The application deadline for the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme is 15 September. Under this initiative, a teacher-student ratio of 1:11 will be required. At least four kindergartens more than fulfil this requirement currently with their teacher-student ratio being 1: 9. All of them are now on the Pre-Primary Education Voucher Scheme.  But when the new scheme comes into effect, the subsidies they receive will not be adequate to cover their teachers’ salaries entirely. Moreover, the fee restrictions that come with it will make it harder for them to break even. Many in the education sector have described the decision whether or not to join the Pre-Primary Education Voucher Scheme as a struggle. The reason is that different kindergartens have different standards for excellence and some have chosen to turn down the subsidies to get around the restrictions.

Students with education vouchers from current academic year unaffected 

According to the Education Bureau, the list of kindergartens approved to join the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme will be announced end of November, along with the tuition fee level estimated for Academic Year 2017/2018. Although the existing Pre-Primary Education Voucher Scheme will be replaced, those students who have been granted education vouchers in this academic year or before will not be affected.

Posing as a parent, a reporter from ming pao newspaper asked more than 200 kindergartens currently on the Pre-Primary Education Voucher Scheme, if they plan to join the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme in the academic year ahead. It turns out that at least four kindergartens – including The University of Hong Kong Early Childhood Learning Centre, True Light Middle School of Hong Kong (Kindergarten Section), Hong Kong Ling Liang Church Kindergarten and Kiangsu & Chekiang Primary School (Local Stream) – would not participate. 

Subsidy for 1:9 teacher-student ratio inadequate to cover expenses

The University of Hong Kong Early Childhood Learning Centre, located on the Education University of Hong Kong campus, the largest single expenditure item for her kindergarten is teachers’ salaries. At her kindergarten, there are many teachers but relatively few students, with a teacher-student ratio of 1:9. There are 13 educational staff members on the payroll. But under the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme, the subsidy her kindergarten will be getting is only enough to pay for nine of them.

Listed as a Lab School, it operates by a new education concept that it seeks to promote externally, as its students are not given any fixed homework or are made to copy any home assignments. Dr Ng, who is the Assistant Professor, Department of Early Childhood Education of the kindergarten, said:  “As our teachers are responsible for evaluating the students’ progress, we can’t cut back on their numbers. We hope our pre-school children can learn through exploration instead of being directly taught or notified, so this process is dependent on the guidance of our teachers from the side-lines.”      

Kindergarten, with a current subsidy of HK$12,000 for each student, rules out reliance on reserves  

The kindergarten campus is equipped with grass field, sand pools and water-game facilities to enable its students learn through exploration. Although different kindergartens have their own education concepts, they are all subject to resource constraints. Dr Ng disclosed that her kindergarten has already joined the Pre-Primary Education Voucher Scheme since its rollout in 2007. But this year, the kindergarten management has to fork out a subsidy of HK$12,000 per student, with a view of maintaining teaching quality.  Although the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme will offer relatively more subsidies, it will introduce restrictions that make it difficult for the participating kindergartens to break even. She said: “Our kindergarten cannot rely on its reserves for its long-term operation and it needs to follow its own development agenda. Indeed, we have come to the crossroads.”     

As for True Light Middle School of Hong Kong (Kindergarten Section), Hong Kong Ling Liang Church Kindergarten and Kiangsu & Chekiang Primary School (Local Stream), their websites or students enrolment forms have made it clear that they would not join the new scheme in the 2017/2018 Academic Year. No further information has been provided by them.   

School sector: Free Education Scheme doesn’t appeal to top kindergartens due to its fee limitations      

According to Hong Kong Kindergarten Association Chairman Liu Fung-heung, these four kindergartens have a sound reputation, are popular with parents and have no problems attracting an adequate intake of students. This is why they can afford to turn down subsidies from the new scheme. She added that compared to the Pre-Primary Education Voucher Scheme, the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme grants subsidies that cover the rentals of kindergarten premises and transitional period allowances. However, most of the basic subsidies are calculated on a per-student basis. If the student population of a kindergarten is small, then the amount of subsidy received will be limited. What’s more, the new scheme spells out stringent limitations on the expenditure items of the kindergartens, including the starting salaries of teachers, janitors and clerks.

In addition, the amount of tuition fee they charge will be also subject to the Education Bureau’s approval. She added that most of the schools involved in the Pre-Primary Education Voucher Scheme would join the Free Quality Education Scheme given the relatively more subsidies granted by the latter, particularly schools with student intakes from a predominantly grassroots background. But the scheme appeals less to schools that are able to afford their own rentals.  Presently, the True Light Middle School of Hong Kong (Kindergarten Section) shares the same campus ground with True Light Middle School of Hong Kong, as do Kiangsu & Chekiang Primary School (Local Stream) with Kiangsu & Chekiang Primary School.  

Source:  Ming Pao