The Education Bureau has approved fee increase applications from 49 direct-subsidy schools, 74 private schools and international schools — a total of 60 applications — with average increases of between 4 per cent and 4.75 per cent.
The bureau also approved fee increases for 492 kindergartens offering whole-day or long whole-day programmes, with the median fee per instalment at about HK$1,130.
As of the end of August, the bureau received applications from 53 private primary schools, 21 private secondary schools and 62 international school applications for this school year. All but one international school application have been approved. The average increases for private and international schools were 4.75 per cent and 4 per cent respectively. One private secondary school was allowed an increase of over 10 per cent, while all others were below 10 per cent.
Among international schools, Harrow International School Hong Kong's primary and secondary sections rose 3.8 per cent, Kellett School about 4.5 per cent, Hong Kong Jewish International School nearly 5 per cent, and Yew Chung International School about 5 per cent for primary and 4.54 per cent for secondary. AOG St Hilary's College (Primary Section) rose 5.8 per cent, and ISF Academy 4.5 per cent for both sections.
For direct-subsidy schools, applications from 12 primary and 37 secondary schools were all approved, with average increases of 4.07 per cent. One primary and three secondary schools were allowed increases of 4.21 to 10 per cent, while one secondary school was allowed over 10 per cent.
The bureau said about 90 per cent of half-day kindergarten programmes are free, while parents of whole-day or long whole-day programmes pay part of the additional cost. The median fee of about HK$1,130 per instalment is up HK$40 year on year, with overall fees remaining at a low level.
