School on brink slammed over $10,000 lure

A Cheung Chau primary school was slammed by the Education Bureau for being "unethical" yesterday for luring new students by offering a HK$10,000 scholarship each.

The Church of Christ in China Cheung Chau Church Kam Kong Primary School's move came after it faced closure in April as it was able to recruit only 15 primary one pupils for this academic year - one short of the threshold for a school to operate a class.

The school then submitted a development plan as requested by the bureau and applied for permission to conduct a primary one class with private funding.

After getting the go-ahead, it admitted 12 pupils.

But it then announced on social media yesterday that an HK$10,000 "exclusive scholarship" would be given to each primary one student enrolling in the school next September.

The school also said it would waive fees for six sets of school uniforms, textbooks and miscellaneous charges.

The bureau said recruiting students by using money was "unacceptable and unethical."

In response to media inquiries, the bureau said its school administration guide states that schools should not offer cash or material incentives to recruit or retain students so as to maintain their enrolment.

"Should the offering of pecuniary or material incentives be meant for awarding students' meritorious achievement or helping students with financial difficulty, vetting criteria should be put in place, and parents should be clearly informed of the purposes."

The bureau said it has approached the school and reminded it to follow guidelines in handling students' admission.

The bureau added it has not received any complaints regarding the school's practice but that it will deal with it seriously if non-compliance is involved.