'We got applications for both fee rises and decreases,' she said. 'We have approved some applications but others are still being processed. So we will not reveal the details of the applications, like the rate of increase they asked for and the total number of schools that got approval to make adjustments, at this stage.'

Delia Group of Schools is among those who got approval to decrease their school fees this year.

Chor Siu-har, school manager of Delia Group of Schools' board of directors, said the increase in government subsidises under the 12-year free education system enabled them to slash around 70 per cent off their school fees for Forms Six and Seven students this year.

'Students in government-subsidised schools no longer have to pay any school fees,' she said.

'We are also set to get more subsidies. Our finances are healthy and stable, so we decided to lessen parents' financial burden. In addition to the decrease in Form Six and Seven tuition fees, the fees for Forms Four and Five were reduced from over HK$6,000 to HK3,000 this year. The tuition fee for Forms Four to Seven now is HK$3,000.'

Wai Kiu College is another DSS school that has reduced fees for senior students this year.

College principal Cheng Che-yin said the bigger government subsidies allowed them to adjust fees for Form Six and Seven from HK$11,000 to HK$4,000. 'It's not a cut, actually. It's just that we will get more subsidies,' Mr Cheng said.

'Some DSS schools have not reduced their fees, but our students, who live in Sham Shui Po, usually come from lower-income families.'

With tuition fees for junior students remaining unchanged, at HK$3,000, the college also adjusted the school fees for Form Four and Five students from HK$6,000 to HK$3,000 this year.

Fanling Lutheran Secondary School principal Chan Yiu-wah said its fee adjustments for this academic year had nothing to do with the current economic slump.

'Our Form Six and Seven school fees have been cut from HK$9,000 to HK$4,500 this year,' he said. 'For junior forms, we increased the fees from HK$2,500 to HK$3,500. The introduction of small-class teaching necessitated the 40 per cent rise.'

Fukien Secondary School increased Form Three tuition fees from HK$2,800 to HK$6,000. Principal Lam Kin-wah said the final amount of the rise in government subsidies coming with the extension of free education had yet to be finalised.

'The subsidy amount is based on a projection by the government,' he said. 'If the finalised amount is not the same [as the projected figure] and we ask parents to pay a retrospective fee rise later, there will be chaos. We wanted to take a more secure wait-and-see approach.'

A bureau spokeswoman said it would consider factors such as balance sheets and budgets of schools before approving fee rises.

'DSS schools have more autonomy and flexibility in making fee adjustments. We will consider whether their reasons for increasing school fees are justifiable,' she said.

Hefty reduction

Some 47 DSS schools applied to adjust tuition fees for this year

How much one DSS school says has been slashed from fees for Forms Six and Seven students: 70%