Free kindergartens set to be highlight of Hong Kong chief executive’s 2016 policy address
Parents of about 70pc of preschool pupils will be exempted from paying tuition fees, says source
Parents of about 70 per cent of children in non-profit kindergartens will not have to pay tuition charges – a sharp increase from the current 17 per cent – with a free kindergarten policy expected to be one of the highlights of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s address next week.
A source close to the matter said the subsidy for each child studying at non-profit kindergartens would be increased by at least one third to HK$30,000 a year from the current HK$22,510.
Kindergartens would also receive a subsidy covering about half of their rents, the source said.
The policy would not include a compulsory teachers’ salary scale, despite calls from teachers and unions, but would give a suggested range for kindergarten teachers’ salaries starting from HK$18,000, according to the source.
Once the policy takes effect, the annual budget on kindergarten education will increase to at least HK$6 billion from the current HK$4.1 billion, the source said.
Although some kindergarten principals said the policy would benefit preschool institutions to a certain level, they feared it might trigger rent increases. They also worried that the student-per-head subsidy would put kindergartens with fewer children at a disadvantage.
The government’s current subsidy for parents covers full tuition fees of about 17 per cent of children. After the policy change, the subsidies will be given to kindergartens instead of parents. The city’s 760 non-profit kindergartens collectively enrol some 144,700 children.
