Hundreds of Hong Kong kindergartens apply to increase tuition fees with family finances already stretched by Covid-19 pandemic
- Most preschools seek government approval to impose higher charges amid coronavirus shutdown across education sector
- But a third of Hong Kong’s 1,050 kindergartens say they will freeze rates for struggling parents
Families in Hong Kong face another blow to their finances after Education Bureau figures revealed most of the city’s 1,050 kindergartens have applied to increase tuition fees.
The government said it would reach a decision “as soon as possible” on bids from 560 preschools to increase their charges for 2020/21, while another 350 were freezing their rates, with household budgets under pressure from the Covid-19 pandemic and the wider economic slowdown.
About 180,000 kindergarten pupils have been affected by the suspension of face-to-face classes since early February as part of the coronavirus shutdown that has left operators at risk of going under, in part from parents withdrawing their children.
Elaine Kwan Shuk-ling, a kindergarten principal and vice-president of the 100,000-member Professional Teachers’ Union, said many preschools had to resort to fee increases but believed the majority under the government subsidy scheme would be able to keep rises to a minimum.
“We also cannot rule out some kindergartens which might be proposing a tuition fee increase because of the withdrawal of students, but still this might not be the major consideration for most kindergartens as these are exceptional conditions this year,” she said.
According to Education Bureau data released this week, of the 760 non-profit kindergartens which are heavily subsidised by the government, 450 have applied to raise tuition fees, while 230 planned to freeze charges for 2020/21.
Three kindergartens had applied for a reduction of school fees next year, while the rest did not submit any fee adjustment proposals.