HONG KONG: Public statements relating to the privacy of young people in relation to a planned school drug testing concern have opened broader questions concerning the civil rights of young people and stirred anxiety among some educators.

School administrators now are wondering whether their handling of personal information about students may place their schools at risk of violating privacy laws.

The crux of the matter was a statement by the privacy watchdog that parents cannot give consent to data collection on behalf of a minor. Thus, parents could not give consent to participation by their offspring in the school drug testing pilot project planned for Tai Po schools later this year. Accepting parental authorization as consent could place schools in breach of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data plans public consultation concerning amending the ordinance to clarify the role of parents and guardians and their rights to give consent on behalf of their children under 18.

A spokesman for the office said schools and social workers sometimes faced difficulty of handling student data, for example, when deciding whether to furnish a student's personal data to counselors or police even though parents have consented.

Schools may face difficulties when deciding whether to give information about students in single-parent families to the parent who left after the divorce, the spokesman said.

Stephen Hui Chun-yim, the education services director of the Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China, has voiced concern about the existing privacy ordinance.

He said schools will normally ask parents for students' medical records at the start of a school year to see whether the students need special arrangements, such as an exemption from physical education classes based on health reasons.

Schools also ask students if they have had their body temperature checked at home during peak flu season.

Schools also face a dilemma regarding whether a student's consent needs to be obtained before passing academic performance information to parents.

"If that is the case, then the schools have to explain to students the use of the data and ensure that they understand the schools' explanation on every occasion we use the data," he said. "This imposes a serious administrative burden on the schools."

Education Convergence vice chairman Ho Hon-kuen also said the privacy ordinance will affect the operation of schools.

Hong Kong Children and Youth Services in Tai Po social work supervisor Kent Lam said social workers normally follow the principle of confidentiality.

He said youngsters should be encouraged to disclose their problems and information on their own initiatives rather than through the social workers.

Hui urged the government to define what constitutes students' privacy and to what extent parents are authorized to give consent on behalf of students.

"Parents and guardians should be allowed to decide what kind of student information can be disseminated," he said.

(HK Edition 08/13/2009 page1)