ESF introduces ESF Nomination Rights Scheme
Problematic access to English-medium education for the children of Hong Kong’s expatriate community has meant alternative schooling facilities in places such as Singapore are slung around parental circles with dangerous vigour. Implications for the continuation of Hong Kong as the cosmopolitan capital of Asia loom large as potential incoming talent consider setting up home elsewhere in the APAC region. A recent move by ESF which sees the introduction of 150 Nomination Rights goes some way towards alleviating this shift of demographic.
For the first month the ESF Nomination Rights Scheme will prioritise applicants from overseas and those currently residing in Hong Kong with conditional terms of stay on their passports. Thereafter it will be open to all applicants. This unlike its predecessor, the now-obsolete ESF Surety Scheme, which did not accept applications for places in Year One. From 3 October 2012, incoming and resident employees can apply at least one year in advance, giving companies and individuals greater assurance about children’s access to education.
The flip side? The new scheme, created to raise essential capital funding, costs HKD500,000 per child. This will ensure priority placement in an ESF school provided that he or she meets the admissions requirements. Parents must part with a HKD50,000 deposit which is fully refundable if the child is offered a place. However, the nomination rights payment will be non-refundable if the parents decide to give up the place later on. Reactions to the cost of the scheme may serve to hasten talks between newly appointed members of the Education Bureau and ESF regarding subvention arrangements for operational costs. ESF has been in receipt of limited subvention since colonial days. Further implications for attraction and retention of talent to the region are likely.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
