Paying for pupils? Hong Kong school facing risk of closure offers HK$10,000 ‘scholarship’ for Primary One enrolments, prompting rebuke by officials
- CCC Cheung Chau Church Kam Kong School posts offer on website, but later changes it to reworded promotion saying children can ‘apply’ for scholarship
- Education Bureau voices concern, warning school the practice is ‘inappropriate and immoral’
One Hong Kong school facing the risk of closure has taken a novel approach to the citywide problem of falling enrolment by offering a HK$10,000 (US$1,280) “scholarship” for prospective Primary One pupils.
But authorities on Tuesday hit out at the promotion, calling it “immoral” and reminding CCC Cheung Chau Church Kam Kong School to follow government guidelines.
The school announced the scholarship offer on its website on Tuesday afternoon, along with the promise of free books and uniforms, but later replaced it with a reworded promotion after being approached by the media.
In the original post, the school indicated children enrolling in Primary One for the 2024-25 academic year would receive the gifts and scholarship “as a token of appreciation”.
The Cheung Chau institution later replaced the post with another stating the pupils would be “eligible to apply for” the HK$10,000 scholarship. But free uniforms and other sweeteners were no longer mentioned.
The spokesman for the bureau said guidelines stated schools should not use monetary incentives to attract or retain pupils, calling the move “inappropriate and immoral”.
“After learning about the incident, the Education Bureau immediately inquired about the situation from the relevant school and reminded it to follow the relevant guidelines to handle admission arrangements,” a spokesman said. “Should there be any violations, the Education Bureau will deal with them seriously.”