ENG-2011 — Page 200

160 Education

rate, extend the repayment period, tighten the scope of eligible programmes and tackle the loan default problem. If the proposals are generally acceptable to the public, they will be implemented in phases in the 2012-13 school year.

Travel subsidies totalling $109 million were provided to 45 061 students of post-secondary institutions.

Tuition Fee Reimbursement for Project Yi Jin Students and Adult Education

All eligible students of Project Yi Jin and designated evening adult education. courses may receive a 30 per cent tuition fee reimbursement. Those who pass a means test may receive further fee reimbursement.

Scholarships

The $1 billion HKSAR Government Scholarship Fund was established to award Government scholarships on the basis of merit to outstanding local and non-local students studying in full-time publicly-funded programmes at degree level or above in the eight UGC-funded institutions and the HKAPA.

In 2011, the Government injected $250 million into the fund to extend the benefit to students of full-time publicly-funded sub-degree programmes offered by five institutions (City University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Institute of Education, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, HKAPA and the VTC) from the 2011-12 school year onwards.

In addition, a $2.5 billion Self-financing Post-secondary Education Fund was set up to offer scholarships to outstanding local and non-local students pursuing full- time locally-accredited self-financing sub-degree or bachelor degree (including top- up degree) programmes at non-profit-making education institutions.

Another government scholarship entitled 'Scholarship for Prospective English Teachers' was set up in the 2010-11 school year to attract talent to join the teaching profession. It aims to attract persons proficient in English to pursue local bachelor degree programmes and/or teacher training programmes majoring in English or a relevant subject which will qualify them to become English teachers on graduation.

Privately-funded scholarships administered by SFAA are provided for local and overseas studies mainly on a merit basis.

Community Participation in Education

Home-school Co-operation

Founded in 1993, the Committee on Home-school Co-operation promotes positive attitudes towards home-school co-operation by encouraging the establishment of Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs). Up to 2011, more than 1 300 PTAs had been established. In 2011, the EDB funded the PTAS' organisation of about 3 000 school-based and district-based home-school co-operation activities.

School Business Partnership

In 2005, the EDB launched a Business-School Partnership Programme to take students out of the classroom to gain a wider perspective on society. In 2011, about