8 aided universities will start school next Monday (6th), all of which will maintain access control measures, and the public will not be allowed to enter and exit freely
According to the Education Bureau, universities can consider whether to open some of their campus facilities for public use, and the UGC has no hard-and-fast rules on arrangements for opening campuses. University sources said they believed that security measures would still be maintained for a period of time after school began, “unless the overall situation in Hong Kong shows signs of easing, the campus will return to peace.”
The public except teachers and students was free to enter and exit university campuses in the past, but since the Chinese University conflict and the siege of Polytechnic University in November, various universities have successively adopted access control measures. According to the enquiries of 8 aided universities, except that PolyU is currently restricted to teachers and students, and authorized by the university, other universities may allow visitors to enter after verifying their identity (see table).
CUHK News: Until the situation eases
As for when the campus will be reopened to the public, none of the eight major schools responded positively. The University of Science and Technology and Lingnan University said that they would review arrangements according to social conditions. The Baptist University said it would review it from time to time based on the actual situation. City University said that it will continue to take safety as the main premise, balance the needs of teachers and students, and carefully evaluate and decide on the progress of opening the campus.
Some CUHK sources said that unless the overall situation in Hong Kong shows signs of easing and the campus has returned to calm, the access control measures should be maintained for some time.
The source also said that the idea of opening the university campus to the public is still there. Because the eight major universities are funded by public funds and some universities have museums open to Hong Kong, sometimes there are more foreign visitors than insiders. “The university cannot be closed in the long run.”
Lu Tianxin, deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Department of the University Students’ Union, said that he understands that the university has adopted short-term security measures for the sake of the safety of teachers and students to prevent casual people from entering the school, but should gradually reopen the campus in the future. She said that mainland tourists flooded into CUHK last year. In the face of serious “invasion”, the Student Union also did not advocate banning visitors across the board. Instead, they adopted appropriate regulatory measures to prohibit them from using school buses and canteens. , Will express opinions to the school in the future.
Student Union: Campus should have an open and free atmosphere
Hu Guohong, Acting President of the PolyU Student Union, also agreed to open the campus, because the university itself should have an open and free academic atmosphere, “this is like a closed middle school and elementary school, there is no doubt that it is retrogression”; he also believes that the university belongs to the entire society and the public With an open design, the public has the right to use campus facilities and public space.
The Education Bureau states that each of the aided universities is an independent and statutory institution and enjoys autonomy in managing school administration. It can consider whether to open some of its campus facilities for public use. Comply with relevant legal requirements; in a nutshell, the UGC has not made any rigid requirements for the arrangements for opening campuses.
According to the Education Bureau, given the varying degrees of damage to individual university campuses in earlier social incidents, the school may need to take longer to ensure that it provides a safe learning environment for students. Regarding the implementation of special security arrangements on campus in response to their risk assessments, the Education Bureau understands the relevant practices and will continue to liaise with universities on how to properly manage campus facilities.