Hike in Hong Kong families turning to international schools amid fears of pupil burnout
As more local parents opt out of the local school system, the English Schools Foundation says it has seen a 5 per cent rise in applications this year
Local parent Raymond Cheng landed a coveted interview for his son to enter the second year of primary school at an English School Foundation institution last year – only to have his hopes dashed when his child did not make the cut.
To secure the interview, he had paid HK$50,000 to ESF through a scheme called “Individual Nomination Rights” which gives admission priority to its participants, who have an admission rate of about 50 per cent. Capped at 150 individuals per year, the fee is only refundable if a child does not pass the interview. Criticised by some for exacerbating inequality, such payments are common among international schools in Hong Kong and not all are refundable.
“The requirement for reading and writing ability at the interview is high. They need your child to be able to write about five sentences. My son was not up to the level, so they actually refused and rejected his application. I can see ESF is quite fair,” Cheng said, adding that he is not giving up. “I’m still hoping to transfer him into an ESF school, as soon as possible.”
Cheng is one of a growing number of Hong Kong parents who are opting to send their children to an international school rather than a local school, despite the cost. Next week, students entering the first year of an ESF primary school will be paying an unsubsidised fee of HK$101,000 per year – about a 28 per cent increase from last year – as the government begins to phase out its annual HK$283 million subsidy.
Yet even with the hike, the demand for ESF school places for the incoming class rose by about 5 per cent compared to last year, according to an ESF spokeswoman.