No copying! British school poised to set up in Hong Kong cries foul over identical application
Mount Kelly International School linked to unknown group’s bid to establish primary school that would mainly cater to pupils born in Hong Kong but living in mainland China
Mount Kelly International School is crying foul after it was linked to an unknown group’s bid to establish a primary school that would mainly cater to pupils born in Hong Kong but living on the mainland.
The group, United Christian Faith Limited, claims to be a branch of the United Church of Canada. The company is not registered in Hong Kong and could not be reached for comment.
The confusion began when an application to rezone a plot of land in So Kwun Wat – near Tuen Mun’s Gold Coast – for education purpose was submitted to the Town Planning Board in May.
Under the proposal, the school aimed to enrol 480 students, of whom 65 per cent would come from “high income group families” on the mainland, namely QSI School of Shekou, a kindergarten it claimed was jointly run with Mount Kelly. Documents stated 95 per cent of QSI’s students were born in Hong Kong.
The proposal will be vetted by the board in December. If successful, the school would be the first to target cross-border pupils, who compete with local children for school seats.
About 200,000 children were born in the city to mainland parents before a ban came into effect in 2013, although mainland mothers continue to gatecrash public hospitals and give birth to about 800 babies each year.