ESF fees increase - a letter to the SCMP

This is a letter that was sent to the SCMP by James Middleton. Only part of it was published, and I have placed brackets [] round the parts that were cut:

ESF schools suffering

According to the ESF accounts 2005-6 in 2003-4 the ESF educated 6,007 Primary and 5,782 secondary students.(11,789)

In 2005-2006 they educated 6,444 primary and 6,260 secondary students. (12,704) By now this is probably an increase of 1,000 children being educated by ESF since 2003-4. Many more sit on the waiting list - there is huge demand. To any sensible Government this shows that there is a significant need to provide additional assistance to the growth of the organisation in this 'World City' whilst ensuring the excesses of the past do not re-occur [such as buying property at the property market peak for the former chief executive because she did not like the one she was housed in].

However the current accounts show the opposite, a drop in subvention as a result of the Government freezing the number of classes it subvents and reducing the subvention per class by 1.8% from the 1999/2000 level with effect from September 2003, 4.8% from January 2004, 6.44% from April 2004,9.572% from April 2005 and 12.372% from April 2006 (all figures cumulative).

In an interview with Arthur Li in 1998 (the enlightening interview in full is at www.asian-affairs.com) whilst he was then the Vice Chancellor of the Chinese university he stated:

[The SCMP version of the letter includes only a very brief summary of this interview:

Professor Li said he kept telling the government that education was an investment. He pointed out that Hong Kong had no natural reserves, only people. If we did not invest in them and did not train them to be more competitive, we would not survive. ]

[" The Financial Secretary thinks he is being prudent keeping the money. My view is that Hong Kong must invest in the future. My colleagues and I keep telling the government that education must not be looked at as an expenditure. It is an investment. In Hong Kong, we don’t have any natural reserves, no oil, no gold mines, we have only people. If we don’t invest in them, make them better trained, more competitive, more suitable for a global economy, we are not going to survive. Hong Kong will just become another city in China! So keeping the money is one thing, but it is not an end in itself. The government has to use it not only for the rainy days but for our future. " ]

I presume that Mr Li included native English speakers in his above quote. He goes on to say:

[The problem in the Civil Service is the lack of talent. Before 1997, many of the very able senior civil servants left the administration, either because they didn’t get on with (the last governor) Chris Patten or they worried about immigration or their future. If you look at the present top civil servants, they have all been promoted extremely rapidly through the ranks. They don’t have a great deal of experience in dealing with problems . This is why, for example, the handling of the chicken flu was a disaster. Many problems are dealt with by young people who are learning on the job rather than by experienced people. Young people are sensitive to criticism. When you try to be helpful the Civil Service thinks that it is under attack. So it puts up the shutters, it doesn’t want to know. It doesn't listen. This is rather sad.

Q.- Is inexperience the only problem of the Civil Service? A.L.- No. There is also a great deal of inefficiency. So on the one hand you want to support the government very much, on the other hand you see that it is really bumbling around. It is very sad, because if you stand up and criticize its lack of action or its policies, you are considered a bad guy. >From that moment on, it won’t listen to whatever you say. If you don’t stand up, it thinks it is doing all right. So what happens is that the government likes to surround itself with people who think it is doing all right, without even listening to those who could come forward with different ideas. "

Q.- As a measure to fight unemployment among the young the government has announced that the tertiary institutions will take an additional one thousand students. Isn’t it a positive measure ?

A.L.- It is a complete U-turn. Last year, we put to the government that we needed an additional one thousand students, to train them for specific purposes like becoming teachers, electronic engineers and so on having in mind that we need to develop high-added value industries. Our request was rejected. Now, because of the economic crisis, the government suddenly comes back to us saying; “now you take on an additional one thousand students, but we have no money for you”.

Q.- Is the cost very high? A.L.- For the government, it is not much. But it is typical. The government may be working very hard, but there is no communication with us. We don't understand what is going on . Why can't it come out and tell us: “this is for the future of Hong Kong, this concerns all of us, we are looking into these possibilities, and we ruled out these possibilities, or we think this one is the best one”. But the government does not share the information.

Of course, in the past, the colonial system has been very high handed, but that style of government has to change. "]

[High handed ? The pot calling the kettle black.] I note Arthur Li was educated at St. Paul's Co-educational College . It is operated under the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS), and was the first subsidised school to join the scheme. I agree with him that Government needs to invest in our people through their education , including those whose mother tongue is English without discrimination and they need to look at increased investment in the ESF not as expenditure but as an important part of the future of Hong kong.

Arthur needs to remember his words spoken before he joined Government and act upon them now he is in the hot seat.

James Middleton

From today's SCMP:

Parents are concerned at increase in ESF fees Tuition rise hard on families, father says
LIZ GOOCH

Parents expressed concern yesterday after the ESF announced student fees would increase in August.

Annual fees for English Schools Foundation primary students will rise more than 5 per cent to HK$54,300, while secondary school fees will increase almost 3 per cent to HK$85,000.

Glyn Davies, who has two children at ESF secondary schools, said it appeared the money would be put to good use but he said some families, especially those with many children, struggled to afford the tuition.

"There's certainly no let-up as far as parents are concerned with the increased costs of an ESF education," he said.

The chairwoman of the Joint Council of Parent Teacher Associations, Jane Tracy, said that while she thought the rise was fair, parents were concerned about the affordability of ESF schools. "They are concerned about value for money and affordability," she said, adding that parents would be pleased they were getting more information about how their money was being spent.

The latest rise comes after fees were increased from HK$47,300 for primary and HK$78,600 for secondary in 2005-06 to HK$51,500 and HK$82,600 in 2006-07. Before 2005, fees had remained unchanged since 2001-02.

Parents were informed in a letter from chief executive Heather Du Quesnay, which was sent out yesterday and on Thursday.

Ms Du Quesnay said ESF fees still compared favourably to other international schools.
"We need a little more money to ... improve the quality of education and also to attend to our physical infrastructure," she said.

Major buildings projects were planned and building repairs were needed at ESF schools, which cater to more than 12,600 students, Ms Du Quesnay said.

"We don't pretend that these are not significant amounts of money for some parents but in the great scheme of things ... it's not really a huge amount of money for many people, but for some it will be difficult," she said, adding that financial assistance was available.

The letter said reasons for the increase included the need to employ more educational assistants and higher education guidance counsellors, increase investment in Chinese teaching and make funding available to all secondary schools for business manager positions.

However, this failed to satisfy parent Chris Tringham. "I think a lot of parents are willing to pay as long as they're seeing where the money is going," he said. "It's just a concern that every year they will keep increasing the fees."

The increase is subject to approval by the Education and Manpower Bureau.

In March, the ESF announced that parents would have to pay a deposit equivalent to the September fees to confirm their children would return after the summer holidays.
Hong Kong International School will increase fees by 3 per cent for all students in the new academic year, taking fees for Reception One to HK$137,200. Grade 12 fees will increase to HK$157,100.

The Australian International School increased its fees in January. Fees at the Delia School of Canada will remain unchanged in the next academic year, while the German Swiss International School is yet to confirm its charges.

For the record, what I actually said to Liz Gooch was that fee increases will have a big impact on parents with more than one child in ESF schools, and that we want to see an explanation of the ESF budget. I know she was trying to contact Alex Chiu, but it seems that she was not able to reach him in time.

Fee increase confirmed

FRom the ESF:

The Executive Committee of the English Schools Foundation (ESF) have considered recommendations made to them by ESF’s Finance Committee preparatory to reaching a decision on the level of school fees for the 2007-08 academic year. The discussion was a long one because the Executive Committee were acutely aware of parents’ concerns about a fee increase – these were highlighted by the Chairman of the JCPTA, among others. However, the Committee believe they have a duty to strike a balance between maintaining affordability and ensuring that ESF schools continue to offer an excellent education.

Bearing in mind the investments required in both physical infrastructure and the quality of teaching and learning, we have determined that fees need to increase to the following levels with effect from August:
Primary – HK$54,300 ($5,430 x 10 months) – an increase of 5.44%Secondary – HK$85,000 ($8,500 x 10 months) – an increase of 2.91%

These fees are subject to approval by the Education and Manpower Bureau.

Fees will rise

The ESF Executive committee met on 24 April, and have confirmed that there will be fee increases again this year (minutes of the meeting on the ESF website here). The exact figures have not been announced.

According to the minutes, a letter will be sent to parents explaining the need for an increase, and a reply will also be sent to Parents for ESF.

Fee increase?

Parents for ESF are concerned about a possible fee increase:

The ESF plans to raise school fee again in Sep07.

The ESF had an annual surplus of HK$26m in 2005-06 and projected HK$40m in 2006-07. There was already large scale fee rise in Sep06.

There were fixed assets of HK$704m in 2005-06 (according to the ESF website).

We expect further significant expenditure reduction from efficiency cost saving / salary cut.

Therefore we do not see the justification for fee rise again. We sent a letter to ESF ExCom to express our view (attached). We encourage parents to express your views or offer any suggestion (you might use this as a forum) on this issue which has great impact to most ESF families, so that these could be reflected before ESF's final decision.

Parents for ESF

This is the letter:

Dear members of the Executive Committee

We note that fee levels were discussed at the Executive Committee meeting on 27th March and, although understanding that a final decision has yet to be made on this issue, are concerned about the possibility that fee levels might rise in the 2007/08 school year.

The members of our group are receiving a number of queries from parents. Several areas of concern are beginning to emerge. These can be summarised as follows:

► whether with the ESF’s assets and income a fee increase is necessary this year; and

► what other funding options are being explored by the ESF.

In order that we have an understanding of some of the contextual issues, might we be permitted to enquire about the following:

1 What proportion of the ESF’s fixed assets of $M 704 in 2005/06 were property assets and how much annual income do these generate for the ESF?

2 Following the fee rise in 2006/07 and the expected drop in staff costs during the same year, what is the projected surplus for 2006/07?

3 What other funding opportunities is the ESF exploring to fund its major building projects?

4 Is the ESF making use of capital grants from the government? And what is the basis for the remark in the ESF Annual Report that government assistance with building projects is “less likely to happen in the future”?

5 What is the level of government subvention for 2007/08 and does this represent a similar level to last year?

6 What is the ESF doing to restore the principle of parity?

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Yours sincerely

Parents for ESF
Alex Chiu (SJS), Stephen Fong (SIS), Sarah Rigby (QBS), Ana Wei (SIS), Audrey Wong (KJS)

Some comments from parents:

I am most surprised to learn that ESF is considering raising school fees again this year after a substantial rise of school fee last year! ESF is already having surplus so there is no reason at all for raising shcool fee. As for big projects like building new schools ESF should seek alternate funding rather than rely on raising school fees as this is unfair to parents of existing students.

I do believe school need to think whether the rising of school fee is reasonable and responsible to the majority, do think whether it is fair to parents or far away from the spirit of eduction, do hope the managment thinking of the necesary before coming to a decision.

I have 2 kids in ESF. I chose ESF for my kids, with reasons like some of you. After so many years, I viewed ESF as a big family, rather than an organisation, a service provider.I believe the kind of close and harmonious relationship with school and parents can provide the optimal and favorable circumstances to nuture our next generation, who are successful with achievement, alongside with character of integrity, honesty and being responsible to the community.

In the past 3 years, the audit report, the salary cut and the fee rise in 2006 (9 % rise without our notice), these series of event, all tossed up turbulence in ESF circle which has wounded our relationship.

Our feeling is hurt by knowing the possible fee rise again.

We are not convinced by Headquarter for another fee rise !!

Please voice out your opinion before it is too late!!

I am a parent from one of the ESF school in the N.T.

I know for sure that there are lots of mums like myself that volunteer every week at the school on regular basis.

So, actually the school is saving a lot on manpower which we don't mind to contribute.

And I have always felt that school, students and parents are like a community. But now after all these issues coming up, I don't feel confident and trust in the future with the ESF.

Now, I feels that ESF are becoming more and more selfish and too greedy.

Another thing, most of the new teachers are from Australia and New Zealand. I am not trying to be prejudice but I assume that it cost cheaper for the ESF to recruit from these countries. May be we should ask for a good explanation and clarification about that.

Legco Education Panel discusses the new ordinance

[From Alex Chiu Chi-Suen of Parents for ESF] The Education Panel meeting on the new ordinance was held on 22 March. It went well. The only Legco member who mentioned the Subvention issue was Cheung Man-kwong - and he thinks it is justified / fair for ESF students to have similar level of subvention compared with local school students once the new ordinance has been passed and ESF reform has been successfully completed.

The SCMP also had a report from its education correspondent:

Chief vows ESF will keep tight rein on spending
LIZ GOOCH

The makeup of the English Schools Foundation's board of governors and the organisation's auditing system were among issues raised yesterday when lawmakers discussed amendments to the ESF's Ordinance bill.

The bill, which contains substantial changes to the ESF's governance, will be proposed as a private members' bill by Abraham Razack, legislator for the real estate and construction sector.

The bill will replace the ESF's 130-member foundation and executive committee with a 25-member board of governors. The board will consist of 10 independent members, seven parents, three ESF staff representatives, three school council members and two legislators.

At the meeting of Legco's education panel, accounting sector legislator Mandy Tam Heung-man asked how ESF management would prevent a repeat of the excess spending that had occurred in the past, such as seafood banquets. ESF executives made headlines in 2004 when they tried to claim a lunch bill that included oysters and wine.

The foundation's chief executive, Heather Du Quesnay, said the organisation was in the process of implementing an internet-based financial system that would show how schools spent their budgets.

"We're very strict over things like expenses," she said. "You can't put through a claim for expenses that you're not entitled to." She said the ESF hoped to do an internal audit of schools every two years.

Social welfare legislator Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung questioned why the new board would not include a position for parents of children with special needs. Ms Du Quesnay said the board and school councils would be encouraged to invite experts as the need arose.

Catering sector legislator Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, who is a foundation member, called for the positions allocated for Legco members to be given to stakeholders more closely related to the ESF. He said he was unable to attend many meetings because of other commitments.

But a parent representative, Alex Chiu Chi-Suen, said he hoped the board would include Legco members. "It's about monitoring the work of ESF because the ESF gets a subvention and Legco members are well-respected and they would act as independent monitors."

ESF chairman Felice Lieh Mak said the organisation hoped the bill, which was formulated after the Public Accounts Committee called for reform of its governance in 2005, could be passed as soon as possible.

"ESF bullies"

There's a letter in today's Education Post complaining about ESF plans to collect fees for the summer term in advance:

ESF bullies ignore struggling parents

The English Schools Foundation has revealed its latest bullying tactics ("ESF clamps down on summer exodus", Education Post, March 24).

Many thanks to Heather Du Quesnay and Chris Forse for a new stab in the back, as usual introduced without agreement from the parents. Many hard-working families who struggle to pay the high fees may be forced to forfeit their summer holidays in order to deposit their hard-earned money in the ESF's fat bank account in advance.

Ms Du Quesnay states that 170 students lost over summer is a "huge loss". Nonsense. With 12,000 students, that represents 1.4 per cent. There are two disturbing points to mention:

* Many families survive on large education subsidies from their companies, paid at the start of each term. Companies will not bring forward the subsidies to June, causing hardship.

* The ESF obviously presumes fewer empty seats will mean more fees and therefore more income. Will the school fees be reduced then? Will parents see the interest from the extra $75 million that will sit in the ESF's bank account all summer?

Parents should be given the financial facts to choose whether to maintain the current fee schedule or pay September's fees in advance and receive a discount.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED

Comment: I don't always agree with Heather du Quesnay, but this does seem to make sense. Other fee-paying schools in Hong Kong work in a similar way (and/or require parents to buy debentures), and as the ESF is a non-profit organization, the interest earned and extra revenue (from operating at capacity) must surely translate into lower fees or better services.

Parents who are lucky enough to have fees paid for them could surely ask their employers to pay the September fees in June.

As for letting parents decide, I believe this has been discussed with the JCPTA, and full consultation with parents would be time-consuming and expensive - and would most likely produce the same result.

ESF announces scheme for companies to pre-book places

From the ESF site:

English Schools Foundation (ESF) announces surety scheme for international employers)

In response to concerns about a shortage of international school places in Hong Kong, ESF has introduced a new scheme to enable companies to secure school places for expatriate employees before their arrival in Hong Kong. The scheme runs from 2 April until 30 June and allows an employer to secure places for the children of incoming employees for the next school year – subject to availability.

“Until now, parents could only apply for places at ESF schools once they had arrived in Hong Kong,” explained Chris Forse, Head of Parent and Student Services at ESF. “This added to the stress of relocating. Where places are available, an employer will now be able to remove that uncertainty.”

The Corporate Surety is a non-refundable payment equivalent to a maximum of three months’ school fees (if paid in April) or a minimum of one month’s fees (if paid in June). If a place is available in the required year group and in the relevant school zone, it may be booked ahead of an expatriate family taking up residence in Hong Kong during the summer months. Children are required to pass a language test upon arrival in Hong Kong.

It's also in today's SCMP (Companies to pre-book places at ESF schools)

September school fees to be due in June

From Education Post (ESF clamps down on summer exodus):

The ESF has been dubbed the "elitist schools foundation" for imposing a deposit on parents from June to confirm their children will be returning after the summer holidays.

But the English Schools Foundation says the payment is necessary to avoid schools being left with vacancies in September as a result of a sudden exodus of pupils.

It has also warned that from this summer parents wishing to withdraw a child would have to give two months' notice in writing or risk forfeiting the money.

The deposit, which will be equivalent to the fees for September, brings the ESF in line with other international schools across the city.

The facts are that this is a real problem for the ESF. It's not uncommon for families to leave Hong Kong during the summer break, and unfortunately some of them fail to inform the ESF - and so the first the schools know about it is when the child doesn't arrive at the start of the Autumn term and the fees are not paid.

This not only costs the ESF money, it also prevents other children from taking up places.

ESF chief executive Heather Du Quesnay said the measure did not amount to a fee increase. "We lost more than 170 students over the summer last year from our primary schools," she said. "That's a huge loss. We were telling other parents no places were available when actually we could easily have taken them in. All we're asking parents to do is to treat us responsibly."

She said schools would offer assistance in cases of hardship, such as by giving longer to pay, but there would be no exceptions.

But parents say the deposit was imposed without consultation and would present a heavy financial burden for the less well-off.

Chris Green, who has a daughter at South Island School, said: "It just came out of the blue, a fait accompli. Parents don't seem to have been consulted at all." He said that having just paid up for the final term of the year, parents often held off paying for the first term of the new year, which was longer and more expensive, until August.

"Secondary fees for the third term - April to June - are $24,780 which we are asked to pay now. The first term of new school year fees are $33,040, which we will be asked to pay in June under the new edict instead of past practice, having up to the start of the new school year to pay," he said.

JE Dale, whose daughter attends Sha Tin College and whose son is on a waiting list said: "They should call it the elitist schools foundation. It is penalising normally good-paying parents because of the actions of a few. Not all of us are in the top salary bracket or on lucrative company packages. The ESF no longer serves the needs of the ordinary English-speaking students of Hong Kong, only wealthy ones."

However, chair of the Joint Council of Parent Teacher Associations, Jane Tracey, said: "It was discussed previously and we understand why it is being brought in. It is fairly common practice with other schools and fairer to students who can't find a place but who find that come September there are vacancies after they have already joined another school."

Yes, parents are being "penalised" because of the actions of a few, but the ESF are trying to discourage this behaviour and ensure that the schools are kept as full as possible - and ultimately this should help to keep school fees lower. It's very common to have to pay in advance for a service and to have a notice period, so I don't think the ESF is doing anything unusual.

Incidentally, I think J E Dale has misunderstood what is being proposed. The ESF is only asking for one month's fees in advance, not the whole Autumn Term.

Date set for new Ordinance to be proposed to the Legislative Council

Education Post reports that the bill to amend the ESF Ordinance will be introduced later this month (Legco to debate ESF reform bill):

The English Schools Foundation has revealed that real estate and construction sector legislator Abraham Shek Lai-him will propose its amendment bill to the Legislative Council.

The bill includes substantial changes to the organisation's governance. Legco's education panel is due to discuss the Ordinance (Amendment) Bill on March 22 before it is formally gazetted with the council.

The private member's bill, which was formulated after the Public Accounts Committee called for reform of the organisation's governance in 2005 and criticism by the Director of Audit, will replace the ESF's 130-member foundation and executive committee with a 25-member board of governors.

The board will consist of 10 independent members, seven parents, three ESF staff representatives, three school council members and two Legco members. ESF chief executive, Heather Du Quesnay will be a non-voting member.

Mr Shek, who was a member of the Public Accounts Committee, said he decided to propose the bill because he believed the continual development of the ESF was important for Hong Kong. He was confident the bill would be passed.

"I do not see why they won't pass a bill that strives to introduce improvement and recommendations of good governance to the foundation," he said.

ESF chairman Professor Felice Lieh Mak said the ESF was confident that the bill addressed the criticisms that had been levelled at the organisation.

The revision of the organisation's governing structure also sets the stage for negotiations over the future of the ESF's public funding.

Open days

As previously noted, the ESF continues to have waiting lists for many of its schools, but others are suffering from a shortage of applicants. Some re-zoning has been done, but that still leaves some schools with a problem.

To address this, four of the junior schools (Quarry Bay, Bradbury, Peak and Clearwater Bay) are having open days on Friday 2^nd March.

One thing to note about this is that starting from the next school year (2007/8), funding for ESF schools will be based on the number of pupils they enrol.

Recruitment

From today's Education Post (at the end of this article):

ESF begins teacher recruitment drive

The English Schools Foundation has begun its major recruitment drive for the year, seeking applications for 80 primary and secondary teaching positions. This year's intake will be the second cohort of teachers to be employed after salaries were cut by 5 per cent last year, following a remuneration review.

Peter Craughwell, the ESF's head of corporate communications, said teachers who were on contracts that predated the remuneration review would move on to the new conditions in September.

Mr Craughwell said 97 staff members had resigned this year, compared with 130 last year.

Last year Julian Harniess (then chair of the Association of Professional Teachers of ESF Schools) expressed the view that significantly more teachers would resign this year than did last year (ESF teachers are on 2 year contracts, so the theory was that they would wait until the contract ended before making a decision). It seems that this has not happened.

Actually, I'm not sure that this figure of 80 vacancies is correct - I heard 129 - but thankfully it seems that there hasn't been a huge exodus of teachers. I know that this is still a sensitive subject, so I won't make any comment except to say that, as a parent, I hope that the ESF can retain good teachers and attract high-quality candidates to replace those who are leaving.

Mr Craughwell said 1,089 applications were received this week but he expected the foundation would receive more over the weekend.

The ESF will hold interviews in Hong Kong early next month, followed by interviews in Australia and the UK.

The ESF has also advertised the position of director of education. The position, formerly known as education development director, is currently held by Graham Ranger. The advertisement says the director of education will be instrumental in shaping the foundation's educational policy.

As I understand it, Graham Ranger recently resigned from the ESF to take up a position as a principal of a school outside Hong Kong.

Also in today's Education Post

Foxcroft new head of West Island
Jane Foxcroft has been appointed the new head of West Island School, ending a selection process that has taken more than a year and involved two candidates rejecting the position.

Lamma parents start petition over zoning changes
Parents living on Lamma Island are upset that their children will have to attend a different English Schools Foundation school than previously planned due to zoning changes.

Re-zoning

One of the problems facing the ESF is that changing demographics are affecting the number of applications received by different schools. The biggest problems (as previously mentioned) are in Kowloon and the New Territories, where the population is expanding, but it also affects other areas where applications are falling.

Towards the end of last year, the ESF announced changes to the zoning. The most radical part of this is that the harbour is no longer a barrier, and so children from the West Kowloon reclamation area will be directed to Island School rather than KGV, and in the Tsing Yi area to Island School rather than Sha Tin College

In addition, primary school children from Lamma and Lantau (including Discovery Bay) will go to Bradbury rather than to Kennedy School. Some areas have been transferred to Clearwater Bay School from Kowloon Junior School and Sha Tin Junior School.

There are some obvious problems with this, particularly during the changeover period:

• Groups of friends/neighbours of similar ages going to different schools.
  
• Although younger siblings will be allowed to go to the same school as their older brother(s) or sister(s) that will mean that they will be separated from their local friends of the same age.

The journeys may be more difficult, which is obviously a concern (particularly with younger children) and it also creates some logistical difficulties with school bus arrangements.