Anna Zhao

    anna.whizh@yahoo.com

    WHILE Shekou is often highly praised by local expats, the area’s education resources for expat children obviously fail to meet the expectations of many. For expat couples who are planning a long-term stay here, their prospects of a good life are often dampened by concerns for their children’s education, a concern more pressing than medical care, air quality or food safety.

    The huge tuition fees for international schools are the biggest sore spot for expat families since their children cannot attend local public Chinese schools. Tuition fees for international schools average around 110,000 yuan (US$17,611) per year or more, depending on the grade, in addition to an education package at the start of enrollment. The total amount can become impossible to pay for families with more than two children, which is common for expat families.

    The education quality of international schools in Shenzhen is not satisfactory compared to the high tuition cost, according to many parents.

    Caroline Rugaba, who has a 4-year-old son attending a private kindergarten, said many of her expat friends complain that the international schools have too many holidays. Others complain that the international schools’ quality is not as high as in larger cities in China, such as Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing, or as high as the education quality in their home countries. Other parents want their children to get a good Chinese language education, but many international schools do not teach advanced Chinese.

    Food quality at schools is another concern. One parent pulled his child out of an international school after he found out the school served chicken with fractured bones in it.

    American Gary Isse, who has twin daughters attending a private kindergarten, said he has heard a lot of discussion about the high cost of education at international schools among expats. “The No.1 topic of discussion for expat families with kids in China is whether to go back to their home countries if they don’t believe their kids are getting a good education for the money here,” he said. “I know three families who have left recently because of the education issue. I may have to leave myself when my daughters grow older.”

    Isse said many expats even consider home-schooling their kids with textbooks and curriculums from their home countries. “I have heard that Shenzhen is considering investing in international public schools. The only worry of many parents is that their children may get mistreated in a Chinese school, like they have sometimes read about in the newspaper,” Isse said.

    Some expat parents are unwilling to place their children in Chinese schools out of concern that it would be too challenging for children who don’t speak Chinese since there are no bilingual courses.

    “I think Shekou will only be a real community when people can say, ‘I would stay here.’ Right now, unfortunately, a lot of families decide to go back because of education concerns for their children. Fix that and more families will stay,” he said.