Elite school Wah Yan College has pulled out of the government's class-cutting scheme after wealthy alumni threatened to cut donations.
The participation of another elite school, King's College, is also in doubt as alumni representatives on the school board threaten to launch a judicial review of the decision which they say has been imposed on the school without their consent.
Education officials said 200 schools had joined the voluntary class reduction scheme and would cut their classes in September.
The scheme aims to share the load of falling rolls by encouraging schools to reduce the number of their Form One classes from five to four so that pupils originally assigned to schools running five classes can go to those suffering from insufficient enrolment. The Education Bureau has offered an extra annual subsidy of HK$250,000 for five years to participating schools.
Wah Yan College joined the scheme in February, pledging to cut its Form One intake to 144 pupils from 180 in September.
But yesterday, it issued a statement announcing its withdrawal. 'We are grateful for the opportunity to participate. However, we have decided to withdraw from the scheme,' it said.
Monty Fong Wing-hong, the chief executive of the Wah Yan One Family Foundation and a member of the alumni association, said they became aware of opposition from alumni at a forum in February.