ESF Subvention

If the ESF gets the increased subvention from the GVT I wonder how they will charge it. I have recently realised that they charge the full months' fees even if a student is only going to be there for one day. Fair enough you may say but then they charge the full month when the student has not attended any day in a specific month and has left.


They want 3 months paid for the last term even though the kids only attend for about 15 days between April (off on study leave) and May (only in for exams) and not at all in June. I have no problem paying April and May but not June. Yet they demand payment and threaten legal action - where do they get off with this attitude. They seem to want it both ways.


Do they do this with the gvt subsidy they already receive per student and I wonder if they will continue to do so IF they get an increased amount?


ESF should be called upon by the gvt to justify this before even thinking about giving them more of our taxes.

If they do get the extra money I'm pretty certain they will use it to further improve the already over inflated packages for the teachers.

So, are you saying that the gvt pays on a per student per annum basis also. If a student is only there for a month they pay the year subvention?? If so then they are even more slack with our taxes than most other gvts.

Excellent article by Jake Van Der Kamp on this subject in the SCMP today. He's hit the nail right on the head. If you can't afford to send your kids to ESF without the subvention then you will need to decide what is more important - doing this or staying in HK.


At the same time ESF need to explain why they need the subvention to be commercially viable - unlike other international schools .

Agree with you boddingtons - he certainly did hit the nail on the head, it was excellent.