ENG-1996 — Page 195

EDUCATION

Student Finance

The Student Financial Assistance Agency administers several publicly funded schemes which ensure that students are not denied access to education because of a lack of means. The agency also administers privately funded scholarships awarded on the basis of academic merit. These schemes are described below.

Student Travel Subsidy

Needy 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 1995-96 academic year, 179 763 students received assistance totalling $217.4 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 1995-96, 140 955 students received assistance totalling $80.6 million.

Fee Remission

The Senior Secondary Fee Remission Scheme aims to relieve needy students from Secondary 4 to 7 of half or all of the standard school fee. In 1995–96, 84 974 students were granted fee remissions amounting to $233.3 million.

The Kindergarten Fee Remission Scheme provides assistance to eligible kindergarten pupils, 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 1995-96, $169.7 million was granted to 47 320 kindergarten pupils.

Local Student Finance Scheme

Full-time students studying eligible courses in the UGC-funded institutions, the two technical colleges of the Vocational Training Council, the Prince Philip Dental Hospital, and the Hong Kong Institute of Education, may apply for assistance under the means-tested Local Student Finance Scheme (LSFS). It provides for loans to meet living expenses and grants to cover tuition fees, academic expenses and student union. fees. With effect from 1995–96, an Extended Loan Scheme has been introduced as an additional component of the Local Student Finance Scheme with a slightly higher interest rate to benefit those marginally-failed applicants and those successful applicants with low assistance under the main scheme. In the 1995–96 academic year, $750 million in grants and $849 million in loans were provided to 36 345 needy students.

A consultant was commissioned in November 1995 to conduct a review of the LSFS. The review was completed in early 1996, followed by an extensive public consultation between May and October. A few improvement measures were made, including launching targeted publicity at prospective students from poorer households to inform them of the scheme's availability, reacting quickly to provide assistance when the students' family situations change suddenly after application; and simplifying and speeding up the appeal process.

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