Hong Kong primary school closure leaves 200 parents at risk of losing debentures
A check by the South China Morning Post on Saturday found that the website of Think International School, founded in 2003, was no longer online.
In an email sent to parents earlier this week and seen by the South China Morning Post, the private school on Boundary Street in Kowloon Tong said it would close down on July 31.
It also conceded that it would not be able to pay back parents who were holding debentures in the near future.
'Since closing a school will involve a lot of unexpected expenses, we are not sure about the financial commitments involved in the coming months,' the email said.
A parent who paid a HK$200,000 debenture, due to mature next Monday, was offered a cheque for HK$204,000 that would be available for collection on the day but could only be cashed on January 8 next year.
'The school obviously knew in advance it would close, but chose to hold that information until a few days before the debentures were due,' the parent told the South China Morning Post.
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'By not giving parents their money back, they are skirting their obligation and responsibility. There is no guarantee that the cheque they want to issue for January 2026 will be honoured.'
The Education Bureau said on Friday evening that it had not received any notice from Think International School regarding its decision to shut down but had contacted the institution to understand the situation.
'The bureau has asked the school to inform parents and authorities as soon as possible if there are any changes in its operations,' a spokesman said.
'The bureau has also urged the school to maintain sufficient communications with its stakeholders and return the debenture and related funds as soon as possible and ensure that [their] students' education is not affected.'
It added that it would maintain close contact with the school and offer help to parents and students where needed.
Authorities said they had only received the notice from the Mei Foo branch of Think International Kindergarten regarding its closure in April this year.
A staff member of Think International School hung up the phone after the Post inquired on Friday about the institution's closure.
Think International School, a private institution in Kowloon Tong, has said it will not be able to pay back parents who are holding debentures 'in the coming months'. Photo: Dickson Lee
The number of pupils affected was not immediately clear.
Think International School, which offers the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, charges pupils in classes up to Year Three an annual tuition fee of HK$126,000, and students in Year Four to Year Six HK$133,000, divided into 10 instalments per year.
Hong Kong's school sector has experienced a significant loss in its student population in recent years, amid a low birth rate and an emigration wave, with Western countries such as Britain, Canada and Australia offering pathways to citizenship for Hongkongers in response to the Beijing-imposed national security law in 2020.
In 2023, Tak Nga Primary School, a 63-year-old private school in Kowloon Tong, said it would wind up gradually by halting primary classes in the 2024-25 academic year before fully closing in 2028.
It attributed its decision to the recent emigration wave and Hong Kong's falling birth rate.
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