Modern Education
Modern Education (Chinese: 現代教育), formerly Intel Education, is a Hong Kong cram school. It was founded in 1988 by Ken Ng Kam-Lun. According to the Education Bureau, there are 14 branches across Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories.
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| SEHK: 1082 | |
| Industry | Secondary tuition, especially HKCEE and HKALE |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarters |
The school's curriculum is targeted at secondary students (Form 1 to Form 7), particularly the Form 5, Form 7 and Form 6 students sitting for the HKCEE, HKALE and HKDSE exams respectively.
The school was the first of its kind to go public, when it listed in HKEx in 2011.[1]
Ownership
The founder and major shareholder of Modern Education Group is Ken Ng Kam-Lun, who teaches English in Modern Education. In 2009, optimistic that the HK government's education reforms would lead to double-digit growth, it was rumoured that Modern Education, which then had 17 centres, sought to raise HK$800 million to increase the number of tuition centres. The company was the first of its kind to go public when it listed in HKEx in 2011.[1] One year after the business listed on the HK stock Exchange, the major shareholder sold his shares just as its student numbers started to decline.[1]
11-07- 2013【Ming Pao】Intel Education invest 50 million to Compass College.[2]
Tutors
Ken Ng, founder, claims credit for initiating this trend, and for "liberat[ing] the very feudal education system" whilst making a lot of money.[3] He also claims credit for democratising access to maximising student performance at public examinations by employing the best teachers from Band One schools.[3]
In late 2015, media reported that Modern Education was overtly trying to poach a "star tutor" employed by a competitor. The tutor, said to have been responsible for over 40 percent of the fees generated by rival Beacon College, was reported to have been offered a lucrative package worth an estimated HK$85 million (US$10.97 million) a year. The package included $30 million signing bonus plus 65% of all the revenue he generates throughout his 4-year contract period. Modern Education took out full-page advertising in two local journals to vaunt its offer publicly.[4][5] The brazen attempt of Modern Education to poach the Chinese tutor signalled to investors the extent that these schools may be dependent on a single teacher.[1]
Winding-Up Petition
On 26 May 2020, a printer company petitioned to wind-up Modern Education. The case is to be heard at the Hong Kong High Court on 26 August 2020.
References
- "Why Lam Yat-yan is walking away from a US$10 mln pay day". EJ Insight.
- http://hk-magazine.com/article/inside-hk/interviews/17682/ken-ng-king-cram-schools-and-celebrity-tutors
- "Why this Hong Kong tutor is worth 22 Barack Obamas". EJ Insight.
- "Want to earn a cool HK,5 million? Hong Kong tutorial school tries to poach top teacher from rival institution". South China Morning Post. 9 October 2015.