Some parents now paying kindergarten deposits as many lose faith in government
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 13 November, 2013, 4:56am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 13 November, 2013, 10:37am
Shirley Zhao [email protected]
Parents wait for preschool forms
Parents say they are losing confidence in government measures to ease a shortage of kindergarten places after finding that not all schools are following the policy.
Under measures announced last month, parents need a letter from the government to register a child with a kindergarten - which is to be issued only to those who make a choice.
The aim is to prevent parents from holding places at more than one kindergarten, a common practice. The letters will be issued by January, with registration from January 10 to 13.
Parents cannot register their children without the letter.
But some kindergartens are requiring parents to make their decision now and pay a deposit.
"These schools are forcing us to make a decision now," said Yeti Chow Suet-yee, a member of the Sheung Shui and Fanling Mama Club. "The government has been asking us to be confident in its policy, but yet again it's proved that it can't help us at all."
Chow worried that other kindergartens might follow suit and the measures would turn out to be completely useless.
One school following the practice said it did not want to be mired in negotiations with parents and officials until January.
"It wouldn't be fair to them if they have to wait that long," said Yam Suk-fong, principal of a kindergarten in Fanling. "What we want are parents who really prefer us, not those who just want to be sure of a place and hold it so others can't have it."
The school required parents to pay a non-refundable registration fee of HK$660 by yesterday. It will then submit the personal information of their children to the Education Bureau, so it knows they have made a choice.
The parents say this creates a dilemma, as they might miss out on a better place elsewhere if they pay the deposit, or get no place at all if they do not.
The Education Bureau said very few kindergartens would follow their own schedule, and most would support the official measures and not charge parents until January.
Education-sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen urged the government to be firm about its policy, and to bring all schools into line.
But Education Minister Eddie Ng Hak-kim has said the bureau could not force privately run kindergartens to follow its policy.
