Catholic school’s bid to charge fees turned down by Hong Kong authorities amid fears it would become preserve of rich and famous

Government-funded Wah Yan College wanted more autonomy, but critics said move to make parents pay HK$20,000 a year would put it out of reach of city’s poorer residents

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Wah Yan College, a prestigious public secondary school, had wanted to start charging fees. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 6:14pm, 18 Jul 2018Updated: 10:39pm, 18 Jul 2018

A prestigious Catholic boys’ school’s plan to charge parents up to HK$20,000 (US$2,250) per year has been shot down by education authorities.

Wah Yan College’s application to charge fees and have more autonomy was rejected amid public criticism that changing its status would put it out of reach of poorer students. The public secondary school – which counts among its alumni members of the city’s elite, such as former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and former government minister Anthony Cheung Bing-leung – said on Wednesday its application to become a direct subsidy scheme (DSS) school had been turned down.

Education authorities turned down the school’s request amid criticism that the move would put it out of reach for poorer students. Photo: Dickson Lee

Public schools in the city are fully government-funded and parents do not pay fees, but DSS schools receive some government help and charge fees, giving them more flexibility in areas such as admissions and curriculum.

“While we are [very] disappointed at their decision, we are determined to continue with our vision of finding ways to make Jesuit education available to students from different socio-economic backgrounds and our commitment to improving the quality of our education,” Father Stephen Chow Sau-yan, supervisor at the school, said.

“We believe, as people of faith, light can be found in darkness. Blessing can also be disguised in disappointment.”