Parents appear divided over whether fee hikes and the introduction of a HK$25,000 levy in ESF schools are justified.

In a RTHK radio phone-in show, one mother stood up for ESF and told the groups campaigning against fee increases: "This constant lambasting of the ESF is going to stop. All you are doing is ruining the reputation of the ESF. It is affecting the morale of teachers and it is totally inappropriate."

Another parent described the ESF teaching staff as "probably the highest paid teachers on the planet" but said he was happy with them and felt attention should be directed at management who appeared to be unwilling to account for themselves.

Legislator Cyd Ho asked how many parents had received a 30 percent pay rise in the time ESF fees had gone up by that amount. "If they increase school fees so sharply it is a very big burden for any family with one or two children in ESF," she said.

She called for greater transparency over spending from ESF management, saying that any organisation handling such large sums of public money "should hold themselves accountable to the public".

Simon Parry

(HK Edition 10/27/2010 page4)