5
ດ
9.
While it may be true that fewer Hong Kong
students went to the UK for further education in 1984-85
compared with the previous year (and I must stress that
this is an area where accurate statistical information
is not readily available as visas issued by the
Immigration Department do not necessarily correlate
with the eventual number of students proceeding to
!
the UK or, for that matter, any country of a student's
destination) and while it is true that the number of
applications for the Joint Funding Scheme in the
current academic year has seen a decline compared
With the previous academic year (1813 compared with
2338), the number of students successfully receiving
a grant under the Scheme this year has, contrary to
what Mr. Cheung said, actually increased (1327 compared
with 1201, or an increase of 10.5%). The average amount
of grant in each case has also seen an increase (2530
compared with 2118, or an increase of 19.5%). To make
a further comparison, I should mention that the total
cost of the Scheme has risen from 52.54 m. in 1983-84 to
3.36 m. this year, or an increase of some 32%.
10.
I hope this information will allay some of
Mr. Cheung's fears about the effectiveness of the
Scheme. I must emphasize that the Scheme is not
aimed at providing Hong Kong students with free
higher education in the UK; nor is it designed to
/encourage