ENG-2011 — Page 199

Education | 159

Principals' Professional Development

Serving principals continued to engage in professional development to enhance school leadership. Some 1000 aspirants

1 000 aspirants have attained the Certification for Principalship and about half have become principals. Newly appointed principals. were provided with a designated programme which made available induction and support services in the first two years of their principalship.

Student Finance

To ensure that no student is deprived of education due to lack of means, the Student Financial Assistance Agency (SFAA) provides means-tested and non-means- tested financial assistance to students at various study levels. The SFAA also administers a number of privately-funded scholarship schemes.

Financial Assistance for Pre-primary Education

Eligible children at pre-primary level may apply for non-means-tested fee subsidy under the PEVS, and means-tested fee remission under the Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme. In the 2010-11 school year, fee subsidies and remissions totalling $1.7 billion and $239 million were granted to 122 829 and 27 948 students respectively.

Financial Assistance for Primary and Secondary Education

At the primary and secondary levels, means-tested assistance covers textbook grants, travel subsidies and subsidies for internet access charges. In the 2010-11 school year, $440.6 million was disbursed to 266 072 students for purchasing textbooks, $243 million to 185 592 students as travel subsidies and $150.7 million to 181 619 families as subsidies for internet access by students at home. In addition, examination fees totalling $7.5 million were waived for 3 316 students taking public examinations.

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 2010-11 school year, 28 003 students received $830.1 million of grants and $258.9 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 2010-11 school year, $792.8 million in grants and $257.4 million in loans were provided to 22 515 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 2010-11 school year, 26 442 people received non-means-tested loans amounting to $1.23 billion.

The Government is consulting the public on a package of proposals to improve the non-means-tested loan schemes which include measures to lower the interest