Legco on ESF subsidy: why didn't you ask us?
Pro-establishment and pan-democrats express opposition to removal of HK$283m subsidy, but government and schools have agreed to the deal
Lawmakers expressed sadness yesterday over the government's "short-sighted and immoral" decision to end its subsidy to the English Schools Foundation.
The plan was put before a meeting of the Legislative Council education panel after the government decided last month to phase out the HK$283 million annual subvention over 13 years.
It was the first opportunity for lawmakers to discuss the issue.
"Legco was the last one to be informed of the plan. The government didn't respect our opinion at all," Civic Party legislator Kenneth Chan Ka-lok said. "It's short-sighted and immoral to take away the ESF's subvention. Does the government want to see all English-language schools turning into Harrow [International School]?"
Chan, whose four children attend ESF schools, said the decision removed an affordable choice of English-medium education, damaging the city's competitiveness.
Tuition fees for international schools can be as high as HK$200,000 a year or more. Fees for the ESF's 20 primary and secondary schools range from HK$66,100 to HK$102,000, but foundation chairman Carlson Tong Ka-shing has said these will rise by at least 23 per cent as the government starts to withdraw the subsidy from 2016.