Preschool accused of taking deposits before campus is officially registered
Kindergarten operator which ousted rival group from its site admits taking cash for places prematurely, but claims it was an error
A kindergarten group accused of ousting a well-established preschool in Tin Shui Wai by outbidding it for its site admits signing up pupils before the new site is registered with the Education Bureau - but denies jumping the gun and breaching regulations.
The bureau will look into complaints from parents who say they paid to reserve a place at Zenith International Education Foundation's campus at Sherwood Court, Kingswood Villas.
By law, kindergarten operators must register their premises and undergo a number of health and safety checks before accepting pupils. Zenith will not be able to start that process until Topkids International Preschool closes.
Yannie Chau Man-yan, principal at Zenith's branch at Crestwood Court on the same estate, said that after Topkids announced its imminent closure on Monday, 160 parents rushed to her branch to apply for places.
Chau said the rush was unexpected, and that staff believed parents were applying to the existing branch. It therefore charged reservation fees of HK$660 for half-day classes and HK$1,150 for full-days. She said Zenith later asked each parent which branch they preferred, and would return fees to those who chose the new site.
"We definitely didn't jump the gun," said Chau.
Education minister Eddie Ng Hak-kim said the bureau would follow up on the claims.