EDUCATION
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The agency also administers a number of scholarships, which are awarded on the basis of academic merit. These schemes are described below.
Student Travel Subsidy
Students aged between 12 and 25 in full-time study up to first degree level are eligible for a subsidy to cover part of their study-related travel expenses. In the 1993-94 academic year, 156 352 students received assistance totalling $145.8 million.
Textbook Assistance
Primary and junior secondary students who need help to meet the cost of textbooks and stationery may apply for a grant. In 1993–94, 113 526 students received assistance totalling $48.7 million.
Fee Remission
The Senior Secondary Fee Remission Scheme, which relieves students from Secondary 4 upwards of half or all of the standard school fee, helps those in need to continue their education without undue financial strain on their families. In 1993-94, 74 720 students were granted fee remissions amounting to $144.3 million.
The Kindergarten Fee Remission Scheme provides assistance to eligible families, in the form of 50 or 100 per cent of the weighted average of fees charged by non-profit-making - kindergartens, or the actual fee, whichever is lower. In 1993-94, $46.86 million was granted to 21 227 kindergarten pupils. The scheme was improved and brought into parity with the Senior Secondary Fee Remission Scheme from the 1994-95 school year.
Local Student Finance Scheme
Full-time students in UGC-funded institutions, the two technical colleges of the Vocational Training Council, and the dental technology course at the Prince Philip Dental Hospital, may apply for means-tested assistance under this scheme. The scheme provides for loans to meet living expenses and grants to cover tuition fees, academic expenses and student union fees. In 1993-94, 20 781 students received assistance. Of these, 18 684 received grants totalling $278.8 million, and 20 467 received loans totalling $436.1 million. In 1994-95, the scheme was extended to full-time students undertaking three-year or two-year pre-service courses at the Hong Kong Institute of Education.
Student Finance Assistance Scheme
Loans and grants are awarded to eligible full-time students of Hong Kong Shue Yan College and, up until 1993-94, the colleges of education. In 1993-94, 1664 students received loans totalling $17.3 million. Of these, 1 626 also received grants totalling $8.2 million.
United Kingdom-Hong Kong Joint Funding Scheme
A joint funding arrangement between the governments of the United Kingdom and Hong Kong provides grants and loans, on a means-tested basis, to full-time students on first degree or higher national diploma courses in the United Kingdom. The grant meets the difference between fees for United Kingdom home students and fees for overseas students.