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Topkids seen in April at its home of two decades in Kingswood Villas, Tin Shui Wai. It was forced to move out to make way for rival chain Zenith. Photo: K.Y.Cheng

Kindergarten evicted from Tin Shui Wai loses out on new location

Topkids is being ousted from its current location by a higher bidder, and has now learned a new venue it was seeking is already taken

A kindergarten that lost its premises of more than two decades in Tin Shui Wai to a higher bidder now faces permanent closure after losing out on a site in the same district.

Topkids International Preschool had sought a second-floor venue in the Tin Shing Court public housing estate.

But the Education Bureau said yesterday it had been allocated to the education foundation of Chinese University's alumni associations, which plans to open another kindergarten.

The premises are owned by Link Properties, but any tenant must be nominated by the Education Bureau via a public tender.

Topkids had seen the site as its last hope after being evicted from private premises in Kingswood Villas despite having offered to pay nearly double its previous rent of about HK$260,000 a month.

The kindergarten's principal could not be reached, but a staff member said the preschool would close indefinitely.

A parent described the news as "really sad".

"Now that the Education Bureau has made this decision, Tin Shui Wai will lose a very good kindergarten," parent concern group member Mrs Wan said.

She said the Topkids kindergarten had a good reputation and deep-rooted community connections, and many parents would have sent their children back there if it had obtained the new venue.

It was revealed in April that Topkids had been priced out by the rival Zenith International Education Foundation, although it was not clear how much Zenith had agreed to pay.

Civic Party lawmaker Kenneth Chan Ka-lok, who has been pursuing the issue, said most Topkids parents had transferred their children to other kindergartens, but a few had been waiting for the result of the allocation.

"The government says it respects the freedom of parents' choice," he said. "But when a well-loved kindergarten is about to close down … it has given up helping the kindergarten, sacrificing the rights of parents and their children."

He said it was difficult for him to keep pushing the issue because the government had rejected requests for talks with the kindergarten and parents.

The principal of the CUHKFAA Chan Chun Ha Kindergarten in Tin Shui Wai, which operates under the alumni education foundation, said the foundation planned to use the venue to open another kindergarten.

Clara Shum Man-ling said the school, which has six classrooms, was expected to provide 180 places. It was not clear when the kindergarten would open, as discussions with the bureau and its approval of operational details were still needed.

A spokesman for the bureau said kindergartens were run privately and operators had to find proper venues themselves.

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Homeless kindergarten loses out on new location
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