"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.