Hong Kong urged to regulate private schools in line with subsidised institutions
Private and international schools should have to regularly disclose their finances and adhere to a self-evaluation checklist, lawmaker says
Hong Kong’s education authorities are being urged to implement regulations for private and international schools that align with those governing their subsidised counterparts, following the city leader’s plans to enhance oversight of these institutions.
While stricter regulations would help prevent irregularities in private schools, lawmakers also emphasised the importance of proactive monitoring and timely intervention should problems arise.
Education sector lawmaker Chu Kwok-keung accused the government of being too lenient with private schools, some of which had run into financial and management problems. He said he believed that the introduction of the code would improve the situation.
“After formulating the code, authorities should refine their supervision mechanisms and identify schools with financial and managerial risks early, so that the government can intervene in time,” he said.
Although the details of the code are yet to be announced, Chu suggested that it should require private and international schools to regularly disclose their finances and adhere to a self-evaluation checklist, practices applied to institutions under the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS).