At Hong Kong International School, with the most expensive tuition in the city, the head of school serves only at the approval of a church council more than 12,000 kilometres away in the American Midwest.
At the Chinese International School, the board of governors sacked more than half the members of the school's foundation and may face possible legal action over the action.
They are two of the city's top international schools - the elite of the elite schools and also the most expensive. Unlike the English Schools Foundation, most top international schools are private, non-profit and receive no government subsidy. This means they enjoy virtual independence from public oversight. More than a decade of reforms for local and ESF schools have meant nothing for these institutions.
But despite their deserved reputations for academic excellence, questions are being raised about their governance and accountability, as shown by controversies at CIS and HKIS.
The row at CIS began a year ago when its board of governors sacked 26 of more than 40 members of the school's foundation, including co-founder Nelly Fung.
Those dismissed were some of Hong Kong's most influential figures, including Victor Fung Kwok-king of Li & Fung, the global sourcing company; Peter Woo Kwong-ching, chairman of Wheelock and Wharf; an official representative of the Jockey Club Charities Trust, which provided HK$70 million for the construction of the school's campus in Braemar Hill; Selwyn Mar, former president of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Professor Felice Lieh Mak, head of the Medical Council and former chairwoman of the English Schools Foundation; and former chief secretary David Akers-Jones.
Most of those who were removed accepted the board's action, but Nelly Fung and Mar are determined to fight back.
