Finances ‘alarming’ at four Hong Kong direct subsidy scheme schools – officials told to press operators
- Confucius Hall Secondary School, Caritas Charles Vath College, St Paul’s Co-educational College and Buddhist Fat Ho Memorial College found with cash only able to fund expenditure ranging from 0.7 to 1.8 months
Hong Kong education officials have been urged to take enforcement action against schools being “risky” with their finances after a study by the Post found the reserves of four were at “alarming” levels.
The city’s 72 direct subsidy scheme (DSS) schools, which receive some financial help from the government but also charge fees, are required to have at least two months’ worth of operating expenses in the bank.
But a study of 2016-17 financial reports has found the reserves of four schools at the end of the academic year would have kept them operating for less than two months.
Confucius Hall Secondary School, Caritas Charles Vath College, St Paul’s Co-educational College and Buddhist Fat Ho Memorial College – all secondary schools – were found with cash only able to fund expenditure ranging from 0.7 to 1.8 months.
Under Education Bureau guidelines, schools are supposed to meet the two-month reserves requirement after five years in the DSS.
