Earlier this year, the foundation-stone laying ceremony of the ever-aristocratic Harrow International School Hong Kong raised much fanfare in the city's elite circles with our leader Donald Tsang and other public figures officiating at the ceremony.

With an eye-popping entrance fee of almost HK$1 million covering the cost of debentures, school fees and other miscellaneous fees, this world-class international school which has produced world leaders and literary giants, can still attract a long queue of wealthy students aspiring to knock on its doors with an oversubscription rate of 60 percent already.

This is surely a welcome phenomenon in that it will provide a precious breeding ground to nurture the talents of our younger generation to a global level with international exposure and a high-quality English-medium education different from that provided in the city's local schools. This also indicates that Hong Kong is proving its potential to be an education hub in Asia with this international elite school recognizing its global status by opting to open its doors in this city.

However, the stunning fact of its sought-after status despite its astronomical charges also reveals the fact that international school places in the city are in short supply. And that will undermine Hong Kong's competitive edge as a world-class city with an international and versatile talent base.

This gives rise to the deplorable fact that there is something so wrong with local education that even most senior officials have shunned them and instead sent their children to international or overseas schools for their education. In recent years, there is a growing number of people, be they tycoons, celebrities, the middle class or even the city's senior officials promoting the SAR government's education policies, scrambling for international school places for their children, which has led to their shortage.

These wealthy parents in practicality are saying "no" and casting a vote of no-confidence on the city's local education. They simply do not want to put their children's future at risk at the hands of the local education system. Their resistance to local schools has further widened the gap of class stratification between local and international schools.

What is wrong with the local education system over the years that has dismayed parents? In just over a short period of time, it has infamously swung back and forth between Chinese-medium and English-medium teaching, enough to make the heads of parents and educators spin. And there is also a suppressive school places allocation system that restrict pupils' choices for primary and secondary schools to their residence districts only. This constantly-changing education policy has explained the increasing decline in the English standards among our youngsters with many multinational enterprises complaining that even university graduates cannot speak or write proper English.

What is even more outrageous is that local elite schools are forced to cut classes as a solution to the acute shortage of student intakes at secondary schools due to the city's declining birth rate, as well as to avoid school closures. In the eyes of parents, good schools are punished for being successful while bright but poor students will be denied a chance to climb up the education ladder at good and quality schools.

The government needs to put the local education system back on the right track by giving local schools greater rein to flex their education muscles and pupils a wider array of choices in which to pick their ideal schools. But it is also important for the government to increase the number of affordable international school places to lure more international talent to the city in order to enhance its global competitiveness and develop the education industry. English-medium education is gaining importance against a backdrop in which other Asian nations and the mainland are gearing up their English education. However, in Hong Kong there has been a general regression in English proficiency.

Unfortunately, the English Schools Foundation (ESF), which is the only government-funded international school institution, had its HK$283 million subsidy frozen for more than a decade after a damning audit report on its management in 2004 which showed the teachers' salaries were the highest of all international schools at that time.

The ESF has also been highly criticized by parents for its discriminatory admission policy which gives priority to pupils from its kindergartens. However, parents have been stepping up pressure on the government for more funding for ESF since it has a role to play in providing a cheaper alternative to other expensive international schools as well as diversity and excellence in education.

True, the government needs to overhaul the management and admission policy of ESF schools to make them more accessible to expatriate families and others who can ill-afford the staggering school fees of private international schools. It has played a good role in bridging the gap between local and international schools by providing high-quality English education. The government should recognize its unique role and importance in protecting Hong Kong's global competitiveness. Hopefully it will deliver its review of the ESF's role soon and settle the dust in the education scene in this city.

The author is a current affairs commentator.

(HK Edition 07/07/2011 page3)