ESF plans to raise tuition fees by 5%

Hong Kong’s largest international school group plans to raise tuition fees by about 5 per cent on average in the coming academic year to support the hiring and retaining of teachers and support staff.

According to the announcement by the English Schools Foundation (ESF) yesterday, two preschools in the Mid-Levels and Sai Kung faced the highest increase of 8.25 per cent and 7.72 per cent, respectively.

The group said its board had greenlit an average 4.8 per cent rise in fees, but the increase was subject to the approval of the Education Bureau.

Last year, the foundation received approval to raise fees by an average of 5.8 per cent.

“When setting the budget for the coming year, the board … aims to find a balance; one that enables us to recruit and retain exceptional teachers and support staff while also setting fees at a reasonable level that provides quality and value for the investment you make in your child’s education,” it said.

The ESF said it had “one of the highest-performing education systems” worldwide, with fees that remained “among the lowest” compared with other international schools in Hong Kong.

It added the fee would include the compulsory charges for items such as software licences and activity fees.

Under the plan, parents with children studying at primary school would have to pay HK$132,500 in the next academic year, HK$6,300 or 5 per cent more than what they now pay.

For junior secondary schools, parents were expected to pay 4 per cent or HK$6,800 more in the coming school year, with the bill coming to HK$173,900 annually.

For senior secondary schools, the ESF has proposed raising the tuition fee by 4.7 per cent, taking the annual total depending on the class to HK$152,200 and HK$160,100.

Parents with children studying at Renaissance College or Discovery College, which are the private independent schools under the group, face a fee increase of about 5 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively – or some HK$6,700 to HK$12,100 more per year.

Both schools are permitted to enrol more local students than other ESF schools.

Preschools would face a larger fee increase than the ones proposed for primary and secondary schools.

The group has called for raising the tuition fee for ESF International Kindergarten (Hillside) in the Mid-Levels by 8.25 per cent, taking it to HK$95,800, the highest increase among all 22 institutions under the group.

The proposed fee increase at ESF Abacus International Kindergarten and ESF International Kindergarten (Wu Kai Sha) would be about 7.53 per cent and 7.72 per cent respectively, or about HK$6,900 to HK$8,000.

ESF is the largest Englishmedium international school organisation in Hong Kong. More than 18,000 students from 75 different nationalities are enrolled in its kindergartens, primary, secondary and all-through schools. About 70 per cent of its pupils have parents who are Hong Kong permanent residents.

A mother of two children who did not wish to be identified said the increase did not match the current economic growth or pay rises. “A 4.98 percentage point increase is a lot, considering the poor performance of the economy and the pay rise in general is not likely to match this increment,” she said.

“It’s a burden for parents like me who have two or more children studying in ESF.”