South China Morning Post - 4 December 2010
Generally, I think that the focus on English Schools Foundation's scandalous investment decisions risks masking the larger point. The fee increases imposed by ESF mean that education is rapidly becoming unaffordable for many long-term residents of Hong Kong and for local families that hope for a good quality, liberal education for their children.
Unfortunately, the concerns of those affected are often dismissed as the whining of a bunch of rich gweilos. Yes, some ESF families are expatriates in the true sense, but most are with ESF because their employers will not pay international school fees. Indeed, there is growing anecdotal evidence that multinational companies are increasingly posting expatriates to Singapore rather than Hong Kong because of the lack of affordable school places here.
Yet many non-Chinese ESF families are long-term residents that own small businesses. They employ local people and account for a significant portion of the economy. They send their children to ESF schools because they cannot afford anything else. Many more ESF families are locals seeking a liberal education for their children because they realise that creativity, innovation and English-language skills will be critical for their success, and the education offered by more local institutions does not foster these attributes.
ESF management must be held to account for what they are doing with my school fees (and tax dollars). But the bottom line is that something must be done to ensure that education remains affordable.
I would ask that the government take a good, hard look at why the ESF exists and the many benefits it brings to the community. If an increase in the subvention is politically impossible, it could at least consider tax deductions for school fees. Financial support for building upgrades and even expansion should also be considered, possibly in the form of interest-free loans.
Laurel Dillon, Pok Fu Lam
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