A PRIVATE school in Bao’an District was complained about by parents for raising tuition for students born in Hong Kong. The school said students’ tuition would remain unchanged, unless they want to study in the international department, the Daily Sunshine reported yesterday.

    A Shenzhen resident, surnamed Wang, said his son, who is a permanent resident of Hong Kong, is a first grader at the Shenzhen Arcadia Grammar School. “His tuition was 34,000 yuan (US$5,174) per year, but the teacher said in the WeChat group May 30 that the tuition will be raised to 50,000 yuan per year beginning next semester,” he said.

    Wang said the school didn’t notify parents about the tuition change until recently, leaving little time to transfer children to another school.

    Public schools in Shenzhen aren’t allowed to enroll students with Hong Kong or Macao’s residency, so children born in Hong Kong have to study in private schools that offer Hong Kong-style courses, which are usually called “Hong Konger’s classes.” Wang’s son is studying in such a class with 30 students born in Hong Kong.

    “The school gave us three options: having our kids study in an international class with an annual tuition of 50,000 yuan, or in a bilingual class with an annual tuition of 34,000 yuan or helping us transfer our children to other schools,” Wang said.

    He said the school is transferring “Hong Konger’s classes” from the international department to another department, where canteens and dormitories are not as good. He said parents have to pay an extra 16,000 yuan if they want their kids to study in the international department.

    The Shenzhen Arcadia Grammar School is one of three private schools approved by the city’s education bureau to offer courses to Hong Kong-born students.

    The school’s principal, surnamed Liu, said the school will transfer “Hong Konger’s classes” to another department, but the tuition will remain unchanged at 34,000 yuan per year and students will have the same teachers, courses and teaching conditions. If students want to study in international classes, they will have to pay 50,000 yuan per year.

    Over 200,000 children, whose parents are Chinese mainland residents, were born in Hong Kong from 2001 to 2013. Chen Dieru, a political adviser in Shenzhen, suggested the government allow children born in Hong Kong and Macao to study in public schools earlier this year, and the education bureau’s spokesperson said the bureau is working on the issuethe report. (Zhang Yang)