Parents will be able to use grant at profit-making preschools for children starting before 2008, says education minister
The government has responded to public criticism by extending the education voucher scheme to include profit-making kindergartens - but only for a transition period.
Secretary for Education and Manpower Arthur Li Kwok-cheung yesterday said all children attending for-profit preschools would be included in the scheme next year, provided the schools charged an annual fee of less than HK$24,000 and opened up their accounts for public inspection. A one-off grant of HK$30,000 will also be available to help for-profit schools who wish to switch to non-profit-making status.
But Professor Li said public money would not be used to fund profit-making kindergartens in the long term, and the interim measure aimed only to help parents whose children were already enrolled in these schools.
Under the amended scheme, children entering a for-profit kindergarten next year will be subsidised for all three years of their preschool education. Those enrolling in the second and third years of the next school year will also be included in the voucher scheme for the rest of their preschool education.
But children starting kindergarten in 2008 and onwards will be excluded from the scheme.
The education minister insisted he had not 'compromised' or 'bowed to pressure', but had made revisions based on the interests of parents and children.
