Parents draw line on hikes in school fees

More than 1,000 parents have petitioned the chief executive, asking for a blanket refusal of further hikes in school fees this year by private institutions, including international schools.

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and education chief Kevin Yeung Yun-hung were asked to reject applications to raise fees under education regulations.

It came as the English Schools Foundation announced a freeze on fees for the next academic year, with some direct subsidy schools, including Diocesan Boys' School, following suit.

In the petition, parents said there is "no possible way" for private institutions to justify fee increases under the current situation and that parents should not be seen as "cash cows."

"No one can deny the pandemic has and continues to cripple the world, and the recovery will be both slow and painful for millions of people in Hong Kong," the petition read.

"Fee-paying schools have unfortunately ignored this situation and already are beginning to indicate their proposed fee increases."

As things stand, they said, families are stressed financially and worried about losing jobs and unpaid leave. "The cost of international schooling is already astronomical, and schools must show responsibility [and] at the minimum freeze any planned fee increases."

The parents also said they had to pay full fees despite the schools for the most part not being able to provide "a stable, effective education" this year.

An education bureau spokesman said that when looking at fee revision applications it considers factors like a school's financial position and its levels of communication with parents.