Hong Kong’s biggest international school group to raise tuition fees for primary, secondary students after 2-year price freeze
- English Schools Foundation tells parents fees will be raised to attract and retain high-quality teachers
- Fees for primary school pupils in Years One to Six to rise from HK$115,800 to HK$119,100
Hong Kong’s biggest international school group will raise tuition fees for most of its primary and secondary grades by about 3 per cent after a price freeze for two consecutive years.
The English Schools Foundation (ESF), which runs 22 kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, and has more than 18,000 pupils, told parents in a letter on Tuesday that the proposed increase was to ensure it could continue to attract and retain high-quality teachers.
“The budget for 2022-23 takes into account the need for ESF to provide competitive salary levels,” said Belinda Greer, the foundation’s chief executive officer. “No one wants to pay higher fees than necessary; however, the board needs to ensure that costs are covered and that students and teachers have high-quality support and resources in their classrooms.”
Greer noted tuition fees had remained unchanged since 2020 in recognition of the economic pressure families faced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The foundation planned to raise annual fees by 2.9 per cent for Years One to Six at its primary schools, with prices potentially rising from HK$115,800 (US$14,757) to HK$119,100.
For Year Seven pupils, fees will rise 19 per cent from HK$133,800 to HK$159,300, the biggest increase among all grades, to coincide with the end of government subsidies for ESF secondary students from 2022-23.
