Education
Financial Assistance for Pre-primary Education
Eligible children may enjoy non-means-tested fee subsidy under the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme, and means-tested fee remission under the Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme. In the 2012-13 school year, fee subsidies and remissions totalling $2.2 billion and $448.2 million were granted to 131,400 and 38,735 students respectively.
Financial Assistance for Primary and Secondary Education
At the primary and secondary levels, means-tested assistance covers textbook grants, travel subsidies, subsidies for internet access charges and examination fee remission. In the 2012-13 school year, $647.2 million was disbursed to 252,216 students to purchase textbooks, $286.3 million to 168,157 students as travel subsidies, $175.6 million to 169,856 families to subsidise internet access by students at home, and $52.4 million in examination fees was reimbursed to 25,575 students sitting public examinations. In addition, school-based and district-based grants are disbursed by the government to support needy students' whole person development.
Financial Assistance for Post-secondary Education
Means-tested grants and low-interest loans are offered to eligible full-time students pursuing eligible courses at UGC-funded or publicly-funded institutions. In the 2012-13 academic year, 30,184 students received $1,111.1 million of grants and $285 million of loans. Eligible students pursuing locally-accredited, self-financing full-time post-secondary programmes are also provided with means-tested grants and low-interest loans. In the 2012-13 academic year, $1,225.7 million of grants and $266.6 million of loans were provided to 28,383 students.
Non-means-tested loans operating on a no-gain-no-loss and full-cost-recovery basis are available to students pursuing eligible publicly-funded or self-financing post-secondary programmes, and eligible professional or continuing education courses. In the 2012-13 academic year, 27,767 people received loans amounting to $1,276 million.
Travel subsidies totalling $159.9 million were provided to 51,753 students of post-secondary institutions.
Tuition Fee Reimbursement for Yi Jin Diploma Students and Adult Education
All eligible students of Yi Jin Diploma and designated evening adult education courses may receive reimbursement of 30 per cent of the tuition fee, with an additional amount for those who pass a means test.
Scholarships
The $2.27 billion Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Scholarship Fund awards scholarships on the basis of merit to outstanding local and non-local students studying in full-time publicly-funded programmes at sub-degree and degree level or above in the eight UGC-funded institutions, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the Vocational Training Council. In the self-financing post-secondary education sector, a $3.52 billion Self- financing Post-secondary Education Fund provides scholarships and awards to outstanding students pursuing full-time locally-accredited self-financing sub-degree or undergraduate
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