EDB's response to Ombudsman's direct investigation report
*********************************************************
The spokesman said, "The EDB does not encourage kindergartens to charge application fees exceeding the approved ceiling, nor does the EDB agree to kindergartens making profit by collecting application fees. At present, 96 per cent of around 1 000 kindergartens in the territory do not charge application fees exceeding the approved ceiling of $40.
"In the past 25 years, only 36 kindergartens have obtained approval for collecting an application fee above the ceiling, representing 4 per cent of the kindergartens in Hong Kong. Among the 36 kindergartens, over 80 per cent (30 kindergartens) are international kindergartens; the remaining six are local kindergartens which charge an application fee of $90 or below.
"It must be made clear that all kindergartens are privately run and their admission of students and related expenses may vary considerably. International kindergartens have their own characteristics in respect of curriculum, teaching and qualifications of teachers, and they have their specific arrangements for admission. While the admission exercise for local kindergartens mainly covers a short span of three to four months, international kindergartens usually admit students all year round. Some international kindergartens, in light of their admission policies, will hire professionals to assess the applications of children with special educational needs. They will also engage professionals in assessing applicants, and arrange familiarisation activities like guided campus tours and school open days. It is thus difficult for the EDB to vet applications for charging application fees using a single yardstick.
"Private kindergartens, if not receiving subsidies from the EDB, are not required to submit reports of audited accounts or other financial information for scrutiny in accordance with the prevailing mechanism. There are practical difficulties for the EDB to examine their income and expenditure arising from the admission of students. Financial estimates prepared at the time a kindergarten applies for fee collection hinges on such risk factors as the number of applicants and staff costs to be incurred, which are subject to change. It is hard to predict whether the kindergarten will eventually have a surplus or make profit."
According to the record, over the past few years, more than 10 applications from kindergartens for charging application fees exceeding the approved ceiling have been rejected due to incomplete data and lack of solid justifications. Moreover, if parents' complaints against kindergartens collecting unauthorised application fees are received and found to be substantiated, the EDB will issue advice or warnings to the kindergartens, and request them to rectify the malpractices immediately.
"Kindergartens joining the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme will not be allowed to charge application fees exceeding the approved ceiling of $40," the spokesman said.
The EDB will review its current practice and strengthen its regulation with reference to the Ombudsman’s recommendations. Among others, the EDB will draw up more specific internal working guidelines as soon as possible, demand greater transparency in kindergartens' collection of application fees and take rigorous follow-up actions against kindergartens with malpractices in fee collection.
Ends/Monday, December 19, 2016
Issued at HKT 11:51
Issued at HKT 11:51
NNNN