Three governors quit ESF board over soaring school fees as subsidy is axed

Three of seven elected parent representatives have resigned from the English Schools Foundation's board of governors over plans to raise capital from parents and frustration that they did not have any say in fee rises.

Non-refundable building levies and debentures are under consideration on top of an annual fee increase for existing pupils and an expected 23 per cent fee rise for new pupils when the government begins phasing out the foundation's annual HK$283 million subsidy in 2016.

The three quit in March and last month. One, Simon Osborne, said today's parents, who were not told about such expenses when applying for a place, should not be expected to pay for buildings for the future simply because the ESF and government neglected to ask for capital in the past.

He said parent governors had been asked only how money should be raised; their call to scrap the fundraising plans had been ignored.

"It's like asking a condemned man if he prefers to be hung, drawn or quartered. It's not much of a choice," said Osborne, who resigned in late March before his three-year term ends at the end of this year. He said the board was told that if members wanted to raise concerns to the media, "there was no place on the board" for them.

Another former board member, who insisted on anonymity for fear of retaliation, said elected parent governors were not allowed to vote on fees because of a "conflict of interest", although the children of many appointed independent governors also studied at ESF schools.