Schools to remain closed as Hong Kong braces for more protests

With protesters vowing to make weekday chaos the “new normal”, the Bureau has opted to keep kindergartens, primary schools, secondary and special schools closed for at least one more day.

Hong Kong’s Education Bureau has announced that all schools will continue to be suspended on Monday out of safety concerns, as protesters and police clashed on Sunday outside Polytechnic University.

Schools to remain closed as HK braces for more protests. (Representational image) (AP file)

Schools were officially closed on November 14 and 15 as transport chaos gripped the city, although many opted to shut earlier last week, reports the South China Morning Post.

With protesters vowing to make weekday chaos the “new normal”, the Bureau has opted to keep kindergartens, primary schools, secondary and special schools closed for at least one more day.

In a statement on Sunday, it said that schools should prepare for classes to resume, but students should stay at home and not take part in any illegal activities.

“There are still uncertainties despite the recovery of roads and public transportation services,” the Bureau said.

The announcement came as multiple rounds of tear gas were fired on Sunday morning as dozens of Hong Kong protesters threw bricks at people, including personnel from China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), trying to clear barricades from the roads.

“I think the PLA’s action was to test the water to see how the public reacted to it,” the South China Morning Post reported citing the protester as saying.

Meanwhile on Hong Kong Island, two main gates of the University of Hong Kong which had previously been blocked by protesters, were cleared by around 20 workers on Sunday morning.

Umbrellas, metal railings, rubbish bins and chairs were removed and a manager said they would clear the roadblocks so maintenance vehicles could enter the universities for further repairs inside the school.

Earlier this week, hundreds of protesters occupied several universities in Hong Kong, turning them into fortified bases.

The social unrest in Hong Kong has entered its sixth month and shows no signs of stopping.