The group was hoping to be able to meet Choi over the possible closure of Po Yan Oblate Primary School in Wong Tai Sin, which was earlier granted permission to open zero primary one class.

They wore masks and held banners, including one that read: “Po Yan is my home.”

A representative of the Education Bureau’s Kowloon Tong quarter came to accept the petition letter addressed to Choi, but was rejected by the group as they requested a face-to-face meeting with Choi.

Choi later left the event without contacting the parents and students outside the venue.

Some of the parents were disappointed as they criticized the bureau for not showing sincerity to communicate with them and solve the issue.

They added their kids have special education needs and it is a difficult task to find them another appropriate school.

They also challenged that the bureau exercised leniency in the case of Sha Tau Kok Central Primary School, whose student intake also fell one short of the 16-children threshold, but rejected Po Yan’s request for a special review.

A mother, on the other hand, slammed the bureau for rushing parents to enroll their kids into another school in just a few days. “Picking a school for your kids is not like selecting vegetables in a wet market,” she said.

Replying to media inquiries, the bureau said they sent staffers to accept the petition letter multiple times already and invited them into the event venue but in vain.

The bureau expressed regret on students being taken to streets under scorching weather and appealed to parents to express their opinions in a rational and constructive way.