HONG KONG: All schools including kindergartens in Hong Kong will remain closed on Thursday as the territory faces another day of escalating unrest.

The Education Bureau announced the unprecedented step on Wednesday, citing safety reasons.

Officials said schools would remain open for children needing supervision.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong also said it would cancel classes for the rest of term after a violent standoff between police and protesters.

The university, one of Hong Kong’s most prestigious, saw clashes overnight on Tuesday as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at masked protesters, who in turn started fires and hurled petrol bombs.

Clashes then continued in different parts of the city, just hours after a senior police officer said Hong Kong had been pushed to the “brink of a total breakdown”.