Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s largest international school operator cuts tuition fees as parents across city petition for financial relief
- English Schools Foundation’s 45 per cent discount on June tuition came a day after a petition bearing 2,500 signatures was sent to its chief executive
- Meanwhile, hundreds of parents with children at three other major private schools have sent similar letters asking for fee cuts
Hong Kong’s biggest international school operator has offered a 45 per cent discount on June tuition fees, while hundreds of parents from three other international schools are demanding similar reductions amid the Covid-19 shutdown of face-to-face classes.
The English Schools Foundation (ESF), which runs 22 schools in the city, on Tuesday said most of its 17,700 pupils’ families would be able to apply for the reduction. It also said it planned to launch a new emergency assistance scheme that would allow parents to defer up to half the fees from April, May and June, in addition to extending existing relief measures.
The 45 per cent discount can be claimed by any parents whose children’s fees are not already being paid for through financial assistance programmes or by government bodies.
In a letter to parents, ESF chief executive Belinda Greer said she understood that freezing future fees might not be enough for those who needed immediate help.
“Some of you have had your hours cut, or have been asked to take unpaid leave, others have lost their job altogether,” Greer wrote. “We want to do what we can to help get you through these extraordinary times.”
ESF’s announcement came a day after an online petition with more than 2,500 signatures was sent to Greer demanding a 30 per cent discount on tuition fees, or the waiving of fees for May and June, saying many parents had suffered financially during the pandemic.
The foundation last month announced plans to freeze 2020/21 fees at all its institutions, including kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, for the first time in a decade.
The father of a student at ESF’s King George V school said that, while Tuesday’s move was a good start, the government should also be providing greater subsidies to private schools beyond a previously announced HK$80,000 one-off subsidy.
“I think [the fee cut] is a move in the right direction. Still, one month is not enough, because [pupils] will have been home-schooled for almost five months [by June]. There should be more than one month of compensation, [but] I think the school is doing their best,” the parent, who asked to remain anonymous, said.
Meanwhile, hundreds of parents from Harrow International School Hong Kong, American International School and Hong Kong International School have also petitioned their schools to cut tuition fees for April through June, citing the financial downturn created by the coronavirus.
More than 150 signatures had been collected so far in an online petition initiated by Harrow parents, who told the Post they are seeking a cut of up to 25 per cent of the summer term fees.
As Covid-19 hits incomes, Hong Kong private schools freeze fees
Two mothers with children at Harrow pointed to what they believed was the school’s healthy financial situation, saying they thought the school had the wherewithal to help struggling parents.
“I feel that the board of governors … there is a lot of leeway for them to be able to work with parents and be able to reduce fees without having to cut staff’s salaries,” one said.
At Hong Kong International School, meanwhile, nearly 130 parents have signed a petition asking for a 20 per cent refund for the current school year, citing reasons including the need to home school their children while juggling their normal jobs.
More than 500 have also signed an online petition initiated by parents at American International School appealing for a minimum 30 per cent fee reduction for the third trimester, with some saying the lack of face-to-face activities should have translated into savings on operational costs.
Both American International School and Hong Kong International School, both of which have frozen next year’s fees, declined to address whether they would offer a tuition reduction.
Private schools face financial uncertainty as nervous parents mull pulling children
Anita Simpson, head of American International, said they planned on providing “additional financial relief measures” that parents would soon be notified about, while Hong Kong International School said they had been reviewing cost structures.
A Harrow Hong Kong spokeswoman, meanwhile, said a prorated credit for unused services such as catering and extracurricular activities would be offered at net cost – based on the number of school closure days – adding that a financial assistance programme in form of a hardship and bursary fund has also been offered to parents.
Classes in Hong Kong were suspended citywide in early February as coronavirus fears mounted, with most of the 900,000 pupils in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools resorting to online learning. That figure includes about 40,000 students from international schools.
Education officials said classes might resume before the summer break begins in July, but an exact resumption date was still yet to be confirmed.
