Nearly 40 per cent of Hong Kong kindergartens at risk of closing unless government offers more aid, poll finds

Schools for younger students say they are forced to dip into reserves to help struggling parents cover tuition fees and stay afloat

Teacher lay-offs could be next unless the government steps up with another round of subsidies

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Kindergarten principals agree physical classes should remain suspended for now but are calling for a fresh round of subsidies. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 9:05pm, 17 Aug 2020Updated: 11:53pm, 17 Aug 2020

Nearly 40 per cent of kindergartens warn they might be forced to shut unless the government provides additional subsidies to help them weather the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey by Hong Kong’s largest teachers’ union.

The figure is double what a similar poll carried out six months ago found.

The Professional Teachers’ Union (PTU) also said about 65 per cent of kindergartens reported teachers could be at risk of being laid off, while nearly 80 per cent were using their own financial reserves to stay afloat.

Kindergartens suspended classes in February due to the Covid-19 pandemic and only pupils in graduating class were allowed to resume face-to-face lessons from mid-June. But after the number of Covid-19 cases began to rise, the government called summer break early in July.

About 78 per cent of kindergarten principals say their schools have been forced to dip into their financial reserves to stay open. Photo: Nora Tam

Many kindergartens, especially privately run ones, had earlier warned they were headed into financial difficulties as parents stopped paying tuition or took their children out of class, especially those at the pre-nursery level, which is optional under the city’s education system.