Two private schools in Hong Kong have been suspended as education authorities vow to crack down on “shell schools” – institutions in the city partnering with mainland Chinese agencies to help non-local students obtain local status.
The Education Bureau (EDB) said this week that it rejected the registration application for Inno Secondary School in Kowloon Tong on July 28 and suspended Tsung Tsin Middle School in Cheung Sha Wan on August 8.
In a reply to media enquiries, the EDB said it was “highly concerned” about local schools allegedly partnering with non-local education agencies to operate shell schools, which offer classes to students from outside the city and thus an opportunity to apply for public universities in Hong Kong as local students.
Schools in the city are not allowed to let third-party organisations use their names to provide courses and charge parents or students for those unless they have obtained approval from authorities, the EDB warned.
The shell school controversy at Inno Secondary School came to light in late July after an award-winning student at the Hong Kong school was also claimed by a Shenzhen school as one of its pupils.
Inno Secondary School Principal Thomas Qi told local media earlier this week that the student had transferred to his institution from the Shenzhen school last year and that he believed the whole saga was a “misunderstanding.”
He also acknowledged that Inno was collaborating with a mainland Chinese education agency to operate courses in Shenzhen, but insisted that the programme did not violate regulations.
Qi also said Inno would cease collaborations with the mainland Chinese agency due to the “negative coverage” of such partnerships following the EDB’s suspension of Tsung Tsin Middle School.
Inno Secondary School offers the British curriculum, including the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) for Year 10 and 11 students and the International Advanced Levels (IAL) for Year 12 and 13 students.
Qi said Inno had 40 to 50 pupils and was applying for registration for its new campus in Hung Hom, as the school had to move out of its Kowloon Tong facility due to a rent hike.
The EDB told the media that Inno’s “management and financial situation were not satisfactory,” adding that the school’s temporary licence would expire on September 30 this year.
Inno’s Kowloon Tong campus will cease operation after the 2024-25 academic year, and the bureau has not received the application indicating that Inno would move to a new campus in Hung Hom, the bureau said.
Ming Pao reported last week that a Shenzhen-based tutorial centre named “Capture Stars” claimed in recruitment ads that its students can attend the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) examination at Tsung Tsin Middle School.
The report raised suspicions that Tsung Tsin Middle School offered its local registration as a school for mainland agencies to help non-local students obtain local status.
Capture Stars denied the allegations. In a statement, the tutorial centre said it was merely recruiting students on behalf of Tsung Tsin Middle School and that the students would be taught on Tsung Tsin’s campus in Hong Kong.
The EDB urged parents and students not to be misled by unverified information and illegal promotions.
It also urged parents not to “follow shortcuts” to gain admission to public universities in Hong Kong and register their children with multiple schools in a bid to enhance their prospects for further studies.
“Making children mentally and physically distressed while sustaining unnecessary stress may only cause adverse effects,” the bureau said.
Last month, the government said children of non-local talent would be required to live in Hong Kong for two years to be eligible for paying subsidised university fees.
The government cited long-standing concerns that some students did not live in Hong Kong but applied for government-subsidised student places at public universities.
As a transitional arrangement, the residency requirement will be set at one year for the 2027-28 academic year, while the two-year requirement will be implemented starting from the 2028-29 academic year.
