Dear Editor,
I am writing to express my views towards the pulling down of the school building of Kowloon Secondary School in Homantin. I don’t think that it is a good idea to do so.
First, I do not see the point of dismantling such a historical building. Some are concerned about the safety of the school building as it was quite old already. However, it has just been renovated a few years ago. The facilities and the structure of it are all proven safe. Some facilities are newly built and totally suit the needs of the students. I am not convinced by this reason to demolish the school building.
Moreover, pulling down the school building and redeveloping the area involves a huge cost. As mentioned above, there is no necessity to do so. As we all know, many people in Hong Kong, especially the grassroots, are in desperate need of help. What should be done is to allocate more resources to improve their daily lives. Sadly, the government turns to this money-wasting project. It has to spend a lot to hire labour and purchase machines to pull the building down. And later, it has to use a large sum of money for redevelopment. Is it worthwhile?
The inconvenience brought to students and teachers is a major concern as well. Everyone of us is already used to studying in the current school building. Relocating it is not beneficial at all. Others can hardly imagine how much time we will need to spend on adapting to the new environment, which we are unfamiliar with. We will have to check up the transportation available, determine the fastest route to get to school and search for different restaurants nearby. I must say that these are definitely time-consuming tasks. We have done all of these before. However, we are to do this, again.
In fact, pulling down of the school will lead to a loss of character of this area. When people talk about Homantin, most of them do mention the school building, which stands on the top of the hill. When redeveloping an area, I believe that it is essential to keep some elements which can represent it. The government will never want to see it well-developed, but without any special features or unique characteristics. So , pulling down the school building seems not to be a wise choice.
To me, most importantly, the disappearance of the current school building equals a loss of collective memory. Many of us do highly value the precious memories, the days we spent in the school. Yes , we are going to have a new one. We all know it. But the matter is that the existing school building can hardly be replaced in our hearts. What if we miss our school life after we grow up? We will have nowhere to go to. Every morning when I step into the school, I feel a great sense of belonging and warmth. It is bitter to lose it.
I am not opposed to the redevelopment of Hong Kong. However, when it comes to the pulling down of the school building, I still have many reservations towards it. I am very sure that we are all reluctant to leave.
Chris Wong