ENG-2005 — Page 209

Education | 171

Tuition Fee Reimbursement for Project Yi Jin Students

The Government provides Project Yi Jin students with a 30 per cent reimbursement of tuition fees paid for each module that has been successfully completed. Since the 2002-03 school year, the level of tuition fee assistance for needy students who pass a means test has been raised to 100 per cent.

Continuing Education Fund

A $5 billion Continuing Education Fund was launched in June 2002 to subsidise adults who want to pursue continuing education and training courses in specified sectors. Eligible applicants are reimbursed 80 per cent of their fees, up to $10,000, on successful completion of a reimbursable course or module forming part of the course. The fund covers five economic sectors and three skill domains. Over 253 400 applications had been received by the end of 2005.

Community Participation in Education

Home-school Cooperation

Home-school cooperation is a vital element in promoting quality education. Thanks to the continued efforts of the Committee on Home-school Cooperation set up in 1993 on the recommendation of the Education Commission, by the end of the year, there were more than 1 400 Parent-Teacher Associations. Deepening home- school cooperation and supporting schools in promoting parent education continued to be the major tasks of the committee during 2005.

In June 2001, $50 million was set aside to strengthen parent education and to encourage parents to participate in educational affairs under the Parent Education Initiative. The committee has continued to promote parent education with a focus on the home-school interface since the $50 million Parent Education Initiative ended in 2004. About 2 500 school-based and district-based parent education activities on parenting and promoting the personal growth and learning of children with parents' support had been funded by year-end.

School Business Partnership

In 2005, the EMB launched the School-Business Partnership Programme to lead students out of the classroom to gain a wider perspective and prepare them for life. in society. Through cooperation between schools and the business sector, the programme aims to help senior secondary students understand their own abilities and potential so they can plan for further studies and a career. Diversified activities in the form of workplace visits, workshops, job shadowing and work attachment are organised for students throughout the year.

The Young Entrepreneurs Development Council, a non-profit-making organisation, continues to organise the School-Company Partnership Programme under which 'ambassadors' from the participating companies work with their partner schools to introduce entrepreneurship to students at the early stage of career planning and provide them with an insight into the business world through career talks, entrepreneur workshops and business case studies. Junior Achievement Hong Kong, another non-profit making organisation, also runs a similar programme for