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Gary Cheung

Mary Ann Benitez

Pupils left without school places after the Canadian Overseas International College folded last week will return to class in two weeks after a rescue by the English Schools Foundation (ESF).

Director of Education Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said last night the ESF would take over operations and teachers at the three branches of the college would be retained as far as possible.

School fees for November would be waived, after which charges - currently around $60,000 to $66,000 a year - would remain as before until the ESF completed a review.

Classes will be resumed on November 12 in a campus in Cheung Sha Wan occupied by the Australian International School until it moved to Kowloon Tong last month.

The ESF is partially funded by the Government through direct subsidies and nominal rent for its school premises. It received $281 million in the 1999-2000 financial year.

The foundation, set up in 1967, runs 15 international schools in Hong Kong - five secondary, nine primary, two kindergartens and a special school.

The Education Department has offered a nominal rent of $1 a year for the Cheung Sha Wan campus.

Mr Cheung told parents the good news last night.

The ESF's secretary and chief executive, Jennifer Wisker, said: 'All college staff will be employed as far as possible.'

Three hundred and eighty-one pupils and 60 staff members were affected when the college, which ran a secondary school in Ma On Shan, a primary school in Kent Road and a kindergarten in Cumberland Road in Kowloon Tong, closed.

College vice-principal Derek Roberts said: 'I'm happy that the crisis is over. It's definitely the best option which minimises the impact on the students.'

One parent, Altaf Hussein, welcomed the news and said: 'It is more than we hoped for.'

A police spokesman said yesterday an investigation was continuing into allegations of deception against Educan Scholastic Foundation Ltd, which ran the college, after a parent lodged a complaint.

The spokeswoman said the parent, Patrick Wong Lung-tak, told Ma On Shan police he had paid $16,800 in school fees before the college closed and suspected deception.

The college reportedly collected $12 million in advance fees before its sudden closure.

It is understood that Terry Lunn, one of the directors of the foundation, and Gary Diamond, director of education of the college, returned to Canada on Sunday. The spokeswoman said it was too early to say whether they would be asked to return to help with the investigation.

The Education Department has also initiated an inquiry into the financial management of the Educan Scholastic Foundation.

A department spokesman said three students from the college had been placed in government or government-aided schools before news of the foundation's offer emerged.

ravina@scmp.com
garycheung@scmp.com



Classes to resume as ESF takes over closed college