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South China Morning Post
30-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong primary school closure leaves 200 parents at risk of losing debentures
A private primary school in Hong Kong, which offers an international curriculum, has unexpectedly announced its closure at the end of July. This decision has left some parents concerned about whether they will receive the return of their debenture, valued at approximately HK$200,000 (US$25,500), as promised. A check by the South China Morning Post on Saturday found that the website of Think International School, founded in 2003, was no longer online. In an email sent to parents earlier this week and seen by the South China Morning Post, the private school on Boundary Street in Kowloon Tong said it would close down on July 31. It also conceded that it would not be able to pay back parents who were holding debentures in the near future. 'Since closing a school will involve a lot of unexpected expenses, we are not sure about the financial commitments involved in the coming months,' the email said. A parent who paid a HK$200,000 debenture, due to mature next Monday, was offered a cheque for HK$204,000 that would be available for collection on the day but could only be cashed on January 8 next year. 'The school obviously knew in advance it would close, but chose to hold that information until a few days before the debentures were due,' the parent told the South China Morning Post. Hong Kong primary schools to add more national security to English lessons 'By not giving parents their money back, they are skirting their obligation and responsibility. There is no guarantee that the cheque they want to issue for January 2026 will be honoured.' The Education Bureau said on Friday evening that it had not received any notice from Think International School regarding its decision to shut down but had contacted the institution to understand the situation. 'The bureau has asked the school to inform parents and authorities as soon as possible if there are any changes in its operations,' a spokesman said. 'The bureau has also urged the school to maintain sufficient communications with its stakeholders and return the debenture and related funds as soon as possible and ensure that [their] students' education is not affected.' It added that it would maintain close contact with the school and offer help to parents and students where needed. Authorities said they had only received the notice from the Mei Foo branch of Think International Kindergarten regarding its closure in April this year. A staff member of Think International School hung up the phone after the Post inquired on Friday about the institution's closure. Think International School, a private institution in Kowloon Tong, has said it will not be able to pay back parents who are holding debentures 'in the coming months'. Photo: Dickson Lee The number of pupils affected was not immediately clear. Think International School, which offers the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, charges pupils in classes up to Year Three an annual tuition fee of HK$126,000, and students in Year Four to Year Six HK$133,000, divided into 10 instalments per year. Hong Kong's school sector has experienced a significant loss in its student population in recent years, amid a low birth rate and an emigration wave, with Western countries such as Britain, Canada and Australia offering pathways to citizenship for Hongkongers in response to the Beijing-imposed national security law in 2020. In 2023, Tak Nga Primary School, a 63-year-old private school in Kowloon Tong, said it would wind up gradually by halting primary classes in the 2024-25 academic year before fully closing in 2028. It attributed its decision to the recent emigration wave and Hong Kong's falling birth rate.
South China Morning Post
28-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
High marks for Hong Kong's hotels as student accommodation
Dormitories should be where university students live, study together and find plenty of new friends. Sadly, a shortage of such accommodation in Hong Kong stands in the way of such experiences and the city's hopes of becoming an international hub for education. So authorities deserve high marks for proposing a way forward by relaxing rules for converting hotels into university student accommodation. A government paper submitted to the Legislative Council on June 20 proposed expanding the definition of 'hotels' to include student hostels. They would also waive planning procedures and simplify applications, allowing private operators to build dorms on commercial land more easily. A pilot scheme is scheduled to be launched in the middle of next month. There is no time to lose. The Education Bureau says the city's eight publicly funded universities had about 103,400 students in the 2024-25 academic year. About 76,900 were Hongkongers and 26,500 non-locals in full-time undergraduate and postgraduate research.
South China Morning Post
28-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong primary school offering international programme announces sudden closure
A private primary school that offers an international curriculum in Hong Kong has abruptly announced its closure at the end of July, leaving some parents anxious about whether they can get back their debenture worth around HK$200,000 (US$25,500) as promised. A check by the Post on Saturday found that the website of Think International School, founded in 2003, was no longer online. In an email to parents earlier this week seen by the Post, the private school on Boundary Street in Kowloon Tong said it would close down on July 31. It also conceded that it would not be able to pay back parents who were holding debentures in the near future. 'Since closing a school will involve a lot of unexpected expenses, we are not sure about the financial commitments involved in the coming months,' the email said. A parent who paid a HK$200,000 debenture, due to mature next Monday, was offered a cheque for HK$204,000 that would be available for collection on the day but could only be cashed on January 8 next year.
South China Morning Post
20-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong considers easing construction rules to tackle student hostel shortage
Hong Kong authorities are considering relaxing regulations for constructing university student hostels in commercial and non-residential areas to address a shortage of student accommodation. This proposal has garnered support from private operators, who now face specific requirements when converting hotels into hostels. The Development Bureau told the South China Morning Post it was considering scrapping or simplifying building procedures required for student hostels on commercial and non-residential sites. 'We are considering allowing student hostels in commercial and more non-residential zonings [to proceed] without the need for planning approval or, even if planning approval is required, only a simple planning procedure will be required,' the spokesman said. The bureau said it aimed to encourage the conversion of hotels and other commercial buildings into student hostels on a self-financing and privately funded basis. In his annual policy address last October, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the government aimed to develop a 'studying in Hong Kong' brand to help turn the city into an international hub for post-secondary education. But the initiative has faced hurdles resulting from a shortage of student accommodation. Hong Kong's student housing crisis leaves non-locals desperate for flats Figures from the Education Bureau showed that the city's eight publicly funded universities had about 103,400 students in the 2024-25 academic year. The tally included about 76,900 Hongkongers and around 26,500 non-locals in full-time undergraduate and postgraduate research programmes, but excluded about 1,210 in taught postgraduate courses. But the tertiary education institutions only offered about 40,600 dormitory places, according to government figures. In an effort to find accommodation, some students were opting to cram into small flats with their peers to cut costs or even live across the border and commute to classes. The bureau said a pilot scheme would be launched soon to encourage the market to convert more hotels and commercial buildings into student dormitories. Former industrial buildings in non-industrial areas that had been wholesale converted into commercial buildings were intended to be part of the pilot scheme. The government would also identify suitable sites for the private sector to build new hostels, it added. According to property consultancy Knight Frank, the city had 10 private student hostels in Kowloon and on Hong Kong Island as of last year, with about 3,000 beds set aside for those studying at five of the city's universities. Property services company Centaline Investment recently bought and turned a Tsim Sha Tsui hotel near Polytechnic University into a student hostel to capitalise on demand. 'The proposal from the government is a step in the right direction,' company CEO Kavis Ip Ming-wai said, adding that the move could speed up her industry's development. Centaline Investment, a property services company, recently purchased a hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui and transformed it into a student hostel to meet the rising demand. Photo: SCMP She said that some hotel owners were discussing the possibility of converting their venues into student dormitories, while some international industry stakeholders were watching the Hong Kong market and were interested in getting involved. Ip said she believed that if authorities relaxed the rules, it could create momentum and international buzz for the student hostel industry. 'It is just like injecting a booster shot,' she said. She also expressed hopes that authorities could allow non-residential flats to be turned into student hostels without needing hotel licences, which would make the process easier. Another student hostel operator, Lionrock Property, which earlier renovated two residential buildings into dormitories offering about 100 spaces in total, also welcomed the move. But the company encouraged authorities to create a policy road map that involved important stakeholders, including private operators, universities and the relevant government departments. 'The development of student hostels requires long-term planning rather than individual efforts by different parties,' founder and CEO Addie Chan said. She also warned that most industrial buildings in the city were not suitable for conversion into dormitories, as most did not meet students' needs, such as sufficient sunlight. Lawmaker Andrew Lam Siu-lo said even if the government relaxed the rules now, it would take three to four years before the city could address the shortage of student hostels. The Legislative Council is expected to discuss the issue next week.
South China Morning Post
25-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Why is Hong Kong scrimping on schools and splurging on elections?
The government took the machete to university funding in February, not only by announcing an expected 2 per cent cut over the next three years during the budget speech, but also with the University Grants Committee dropping the bombshell that the eight public universities would have to return HK$4 billion (US$510.7 million) from their reserves. How the government means to realise its ambition of developing Hong Kong as an international hub for post-secondary education while cutting finding remains a mystery; we can only have faith that the universities will figure out how to make ends meet. Given the government's fiscal resolve towards tertiary education, however, it should come as no surprise that it has no qualms about slashing a major grant to public primary and secondary schools too. Last week, Education Bureau officials met school representatives to propose a 10 per cent cut in the Expanded Operating Expenses Block Grant. Furthermore, schools under the direct subsidy scheme, which are considered semi-private, could face a 2 per cent funding reduction. Taking into consideration other recent developments, the government is putting serious heat on schools. Even with the encouraging news of the inflow of new students , members of families that have settled in Hong Kong via various talent schemes, schools might have to fight to survive.
