XN000022-1995-01-06 — Page 4

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Improvements to Local Student Finance Scheme

An additional of some 6,200 tertiary students are expected to benefit from an improvement package to be introduced under the Local Student Finance Scheme from 1995/96 academic year.

The improvements to the Local Student Finance Scheme approved by the Finance Committee today (Friday) include:

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

Exclusion of the assets of the applicants' siblings in determining the level of financial assistance;

Allowing for deduction of the accommodation expenses of the applicants' siblings on hostel fees or rented accommodation who are studying at tertiary or post-secondary institutions as household expenses in the financial assistance calculation formula;

Allowing for deduction as household expenses in the calculation formula an amount up to the Single Person Rate for Elderly Persons under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme administered by the Social Welfare Department to cater for those applicants whose grandparents are supported by the households in local elderly homes;

Allowing for the expenses on overseas compulsory field trips to be regarded as part of the academic expenses in calculating the maximum grants of the courses concerned in determining the needs of the students;

Revision of the scope and the level of the Discretionary Loans to cater for students with special hardship, including disabled students in receipt of Disability Allowance;

Establishment of an Extended Loan Scheme as an additional component of the Local Student Finance Scheme to help those marginally failed applicants and those successful students with a low level of financial assistance under the current scheme.

The Secretary for the Treasury has been delegated the authority to revise the ceiling of the Extended Loan in accordance with the future revisions in tuition fees.

The Controller of Student Financial Assistance Agency, Mr Alfred Wong, estimated that the total additional grants and loans under the improvement package would be $26.6 million and $55 million respectively.