Hong Kong's Kelly Hill School was involved in a financial scandal last year. The school sent a letter to parents on Wednesday (19th), stating that the name "Kelly Hill" would be discontinued, and that the Hong Kong school had no relationship with the UK's Kelly Hill.
The school supervisor, Chen Jiner, replied to the inquiry that the previous operator left too much trouble, so he gave up the name of Kelly Hill.
However, the school's public relations, referring to the first letter received from Kelly Hill in the United Kingdom this month, said that Hong Kong had already been notified to terminate cooperation, describing the school as a victim.
Regarding the nearly 300 million yuan of bonds being pursued by the school, Chen Jiner emphasized that the parents bought the bonds from another company and had nothing to do with the school.
Some parents who were owed more than 3 million yuan in bonds criticized the school for trying to evade responsibility by switching operating companies to clear their debts.
Mount Kelly School Investigation・Special Page｜The Inside Story of the Financial Troubled and Disorganized Accounts Scandal of the Hong Kong Branch of the British Noble School
Hong Kong Kelly Hill School sent a letter to parents on the 19th, stating that the school will stop using the name "Kelly Hill" and that it has no relationship with Kelly Hill in the United Kingdom.
(provided by respondents)
Sending a letter to change the name of the school supervisor and say that the former operator will leave trouble
Hong Kong Kelly Hill School sent a letter to parents on the 19th, stating that the school would stop using the name "Kelly Hill", and described that it was urgent to change the name, and future documents will be issued in the name of the new school.
The school did not announce the name of the new school in the letter, but said that if parents choose not to stay at the new school, they will assist students in transferring.
When the school supervisor Chen Jiner replied to the inquiry of "Hong Kong 01", she admitted the name change: "We don't use Kelly Hill's name, because it is too troublesome, and (the former operator) left too much trouble." She also used trade secrets as an excuse , refused to disclose the name of the new school, and refused to respond to whether a name change application had been submitted to the Education Bureau.
According to the website of the Education Bureau, the school is still registered as "Hong Kong Kelly Hill School".
According to the website of the Education Bureau, the school is still registered as "Hong Kong Kelly Hill School".
(Education Bureau website)
Kelly Hill in the UK terminated the cooperation in October last year
The parent letter issued by the school also mentioned that under the operation of the new operation team, the school has no relationship with Kelly Hill in the UK.
Chen Jiner once pointed out that he took over the school in October last year, and when he held an enrollment event in November, he once said that it was jointly organized with Kelly Hill in the United Kingdom.
When the reporter asked her about the school principal's visa in early January this year, she still said that she was waiting for the UK to appoint a new principal of the Hong Kong school.
The reporter asked Chen Jiner about the relationship between the Hong Kong school and the British school. She pointed out that "of course there was still a relationship with the United Kingdom at that time", but after further communication, a new agreement was reached.
In November last year, Hong Kong Kelly Hill School held an enrollment activity under the name of the newly established "China Hong Kong Kelly Hill School Co., Ltd.".
It also said the event was co-hosted with Kelly Hill, UK.
(file picture)
Hong Kong school claims to be a victim: notices will be received from January
The school later responded through public relations, saying that it received a letter from Mount Kelly School in the United Kingdom in January this year, saying that it had notified Hong Kong to terminate the cooperation in October last year. victims of the problem".
The school also pointed out that when Chen Jin’er’s team took over the school last year, they were told that they could not contact Mount Kelly School in the United Kingdom on their own, and they had to be arranged by Gary Wright, the consultant of the British Mount Kelly School Board.
The school said that it has begun to communicate with the Education Bureau about the school name change, but the details need to be kept confidential for the time being.
In early January this year, when Chen Jiner (left) replied to the reporter about the visa issue of former Houzhu principal Paul Ellmes (right), he still said that he was still waiting for the UK to appoint the new principal of the Hong Kong school.
The school supervisor pointed out that the new company refused to pay for the debt
Hong Kong's Mount Kelly School was embroiled in a financial scandal last year, with parents accusing the school of refusing to repay nearly $300 million in bonds.
Regarding the allegations, Chen Jiner said that the debts had nothing to do with her team: "The 300 million yuan is not from us. The parents did not buy bonds from the Hong Kong Kelly Hill School Company, but from another company."
In the past, many parents purchased bonds from Mount Kelly Hong Kong School, which were collected by "Mount Kelly International Limited" (now renamed "PM Education Operation Limited") and "Mount Kelly Foundation Limited".
The two companies, accused of being the "former operators" of the school, are now in liquidation proceedings.
Chen Jiner said that the new team runs the school with a new company, and believes that the debt of the "former operator" should not be borne by the new company: "There is no way to do this, we only follow the laws of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong Kelly Hill School has not received any parent bond money. You should visit those brokers, how to market bonds to parents."
More than 20 parents held a press conference on Friday (19th), saying that the bonds of Hong Kong Kelly Hill School could not be returned, and some of them were expected to lose tens of millions.
(Photo by Li Yinglin)
The school also replied in writing that when it took over the Hong Kong Kelly Hill School, it found that there was a dispute over the refund of tuition fees in June, and the dispute had entered legal proceedings, so it was inconvenient to discuss it, but it promised to cooperate and properly handle it.
The school also stated that it had never seen the "so-called bonds" in any bank accounts of the school, and suggested that the parents concerned should resolve it through legal means.
Parents criticize school for evading responsibility
Criticized by parents who have been owed more than 3 million yuan in bonds, the school wants to switch operating companies and change its name to clear the debt and put the blame on the former operator.
She stressed that the school never notified parents of delinquent bonds about switching operators.
She also described the current situation as outrageous: "This kind of fraud is happening in the public eye. It seems that no government department can supervise or follow up. I think this is outrageous, and it is such a small move in the education industry."
Last year, "Hong Kong 01" exclusively investigated the inside story of Kelly Hill School's disorderly accounts, the school's arrears of wages, debts, rent and renovation fees, and even family disputes. Brothers accused each other of theft, and founder Wang Baixian was also revealed to have been jailed for fraud.
In November last year, more than 20 parents held a press conference, accusing the school of failing to collect 200 million yuan in student debt, and scolding the school for opening a new company to recruit students, which was a "restaurant-style liquidation" operation.
▼On November 20, 2021, Kelly Hill admissions event refused to be interviewed by the media▼
In November last year, the school held a recruitment activity in the Hong Kong Island Hotel in the name of the newly established "China Hong Kong Kelly Hill School Co., Ltd.". Chen Jiner, the former general manager of the Hong Kong operation center of Dagong.com, served as the director and school supervisor of the new company.
Jiang Zaizhong, chairman of Hong Kong's Dagong Wenhui Media Group, was listed as the officiating guest of the admissions event. The event prohibited media interviews including "Hong Kong 01".
In response to the enquiry of "Hong Kong 01", the British school refused to be involved in the recruitment activities at that time.
"Hong Kong 01" also revealed at the beginning of this year that the former principal-designate of Kelly Hill School did not obtain a work visa. At the end of last year, he was taken away by the law enforcement department for investigation. The Immigration Department even went to the school premises for investigation.
▼Kelly Hill's 2016 Tuen Mun So Kwun Wat ground-breaking ceremony but the establishment of the school failed▼
▼UK Mount Kelly School▼
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Kelly Hill School｜The former principal-designate was taken away by law enforcement without a work visa. The Kelly Hill School scandal was investigated. Rent arrears and debts were liquidated Founder Wang Baixian failed to clear suspicions Kelly Hill School investigation・2｜Brothers broke up and mutual exclusion of embezzling 3 billion yuan of public funds to go public. leave forever
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