Judy Carline helps expatriates settle in after they’ve transferred to Hong Kong. These days, she spends most of her time helping anxious parents who are trying to get their kids into international schools…

Hong Kong’s booming economy and increased demand for English- language instruction from local Chinese parents have filled the city’s international schools to the bursting point. The shortage is so bad that some employees have decided not to relocate to Hong Kong, says Lee Quane, Hong Kong-based general manager at personnel consultant ECA International.

“Those who reject Hong Kong are the ones with families,” says Quane, 31. “Pollution used to be the main reason, now education is coming to the fore.”

U.S. families face particular hassles. Hong Kong International School, or HKIS, the largest of three schools teaching a U.S. curriculum, has a waiting list of 630 for the fall term. The school, which charges as much as HK$157,100 (US$20,110) a year, has 2,600 places for students aged 4 to 18.

“The number of children on our wait lists is at historic highs,” says school director Richard Mueller, 62. “Demand has gone up dramatically since 2005 because more companies are adding staff or relocating to Hong Kong to tap China’s economic growth.” …

Demand for English-language schools has increased since Hong Kong returned to Chinese control in 1997. Since then, three- quarters of the city’s 414 secondary schools have been forced to switch their language of instruction to Cantonese from English…

Hong Kong’s government says there are plenty of spaces for expatriate students. The city has 35,900 places for expatriate students, only 85 percent of which are filled, says Bernadette Linn, deputy secretary at the Education and Manpower Bureau.

Those figures are misleading, says Jack Maisano, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.

“Schools are not all of the same caliber,” he says. “Many are not where executives would send their kids.” …

Source: Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aI3PnC.hbA6Y&refer=asia