More than 40 schools in five mainland Chinese cities and provinces offering Hong Kong’s university entrance exam curriculum charge at least 100,000 yuan (US$13,925) in annual tuition, with fees of as much as 334,000 yuan at one, the Post has found.
The schools, in Guangdong, Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, also generally charge additional boarding and meal fees that total thousands of yuan each year, according to the institutions.
The 45 schools examined by the Post are among 68 that offer Hong Kong’s Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) curriculum on the mainland. An increasing number of pupils across the border are taking the city’s university entrance exams to apply to higher education institutions in Hong Kong and abroad.
One of the most expensive is Yew Chung International School in Beijing, which charges 334,000 yuan in annual tuition, in addition to unspecified fees for school transport, meals, school uniform and extracurricular activities. A student must also pay a non-refundable 2,500 yuan application fee before the vetting process begins.
Most other schools charge around 150,000 yuan annually, while some cheaper ones still cost around 120,000 yuan.
The privately run International Courses Jialian Campus of the public Beijing No 4 High School charges its DSE pupils 200,000 yuan in annual tuition, plus a 38,000 yuan annual boarding fee and meal fees of 80 yuan per day, according to its student recruitment leaflet.
