Equal Educational Opportunities for All?

【明報專訊】THE ORIGINAL PURPOSE of the Direct Subsidy Scheme

(DSS) is to allow schools to retain a certain degree of flexibility within
the present education system for the benefit of students. Unfortunately,
the scheme has given rise to a new kind of school for the rich.
The decision of St Stephen's Girls' College to join the DSS has not
only aroused strong opposition from some parents and alumnae, but
also generated much public discussion on whether poorer students are
being deprived of the opportunity to receive quality education as more
and more prestigious aided schools join the scheme.
While the original purpose of the scheme is in a way justifiable, the fact
is that some irresponsible educationalists are abusing the system. In
2010, the Director of Audit's report pointed out that many DSS schools
operated under no government control, increasing tuition fees on one
pretext or another, and using their surplus money to buy real property
or speculate in the property and stock markets. And while according to
regulations at least 10 percent of the tuition fees charged by DSS
schools should be set aside for scholarships and grants to help poorer
students, it was found that as many as 30 percent of the schools failed
to meet this 10 percent criterion. In recent years, established
prestigious schools have one after another joined the DSS, and their
tuition fees have kept increasing, so much so that some are charging
HK$50,000 to HK$60,000 a year - and there are other school fees to be
paid. An average middle-class family can hardly afford to send their
children to such schools, let alone a poorer family.
Education should provide a channel for social upward mobility. To
achieve equal opportunities for all, so that poorer students may
improve their lot through education, the majority of primary and
secondary schools in Hong Kong are either run or aided by the
government, and there is free education. Now, however, more and
more people feel that established prestigious schools are making use
of the DSS to serve the rich or even the privileged, charging hefty fees
that effectively exclude students from poorer families. As a result,
quality education is monopolised by a minority.
DSS schools are today synonymous with schools for the rich, which is
a gross social injustice. The government should immediately freeze the
number of these schools, so that no more aided schools may be
allowed to join the DSS. The tuition fees of all existing DSS schools
should also be frozen. More importantly, the government should without
further delay review DSS schools' student recruitment policies.
At present, DSS schools are required to set aside for scholarships and
grants at least 10 percent of the tuition fees they charge. This
percentage should be raised to at least 20 percent. At the same time,
DSS schools should be required to set aside at least 20 percent of
their places for students from the central allocation system. And for the
benefit of poorer students, who are likely to be from the central
allocation system, the government must make sure that all DSS
schools' scholarships and grants are given out. Only then can quality
education be prevented from being monopolised by children from
wealthy families.
The sponsoring bodies of aided schools profess to aim at educating
poorer children to help the lower classes. What they should do then is
provide a good education for all students, irrespective of social class,
rather than teach only "elite students". If all DSS schools were
privatised and self-financing, and were not subsidised with taxpayers'
money, the public would not question their student recruitment policies.
However, as DSS schools are heavily financed with taxpayers' money
every year, the public has every right not to allow the use of public
money for the benefit of the rich only.
明報社評 2013.06.17﹕有教無類淪為空話 直資校須接受派位
直資制度的本意，是希望讓部分學校在現行教育制度內保持一定彈性，造福學
生，但如今部分直資學校卻變相成為新一代貴族學校。
聖士提反女子中學擬轉直資，惹來部分家長及校友強烈反對，更引發社會質疑
津貼名校紛紛轉直資，剝奪基層學生接受優質教育的機會。
計劃原意雖有一定道理，但現實是這制度已被部分不負責任的教育工作者濫用
2010 年審計署報告揭露大批直資學校「無王管」，堆砌藉口加學費，濫用款項
置業、炒樓炒股，此外，按規定直資學校須撥出學費收入的最少 10%作獎助學
金，減輕基層學生負擔，現實卻有高達三成學校的獎助學金不達標。近年傳統
名校紛紛轉為直資，學費愈收愈貴，部分更高達五六萬元一年，連同其他雜費
一般中產家庭根本無法負擔，遑論基層家庭。
教育本應是社會向上流動的階梯，香港的中小學大多為官津校，並實施免費
教育，目的正是要做到機會平等，基層學生即使家境清貧也能靠知識改變命運
如今愈來愈多人質疑，傳統名校利用直資政策把學校變成貴族甚至特權階級，
以高昂學費把基層家庭拒諸門外，壟斷優質教育。
直資學校如今已變成「貴族」學校的代名詞，造成嚴重社會不公義。政府應立即
凍結直資學校的數目，不再容許津校轉為直資，已經轉制的直資學校也應凍結
學費。更重要的是，政府應立即檢討直資學校的收生政策。
目前制度規定直資學校須最少撥出學費收入 10%用作獎助學金，這比率應增
至最少 20%，並規定直資學校接收最少 20%的中央派位學生。政府須確保學
校嚴格遵照規定，派出全部獎助學金，照顧可能透過派位而來的清貧學生，亦
只有如此，才能避免學額被有錢人子女壟斷。
津貼學校的辦學團體，辦學目的本來都是救助貧苦大眾、教育清貧學童，有教
無類「教好」學生才是其辦學理念，豈能淪為只教「好學生」。若直資學校變成
全私校，收支自負盈虧，毋須納稅人補貼，公眾也不會理會學校如何收生，
但直資學校每年仍然收到大筆納稅人的資助，社會絕不容許教育公帑只向有錢
人傾斜。
■Glossary
pretext ﹕ a false reason that you give for doing something, usually
something bad, in order to hide the real reason; an excuse
profess ﹕ state openly that you have a particular belief, feeling, etc