Subsidy scheme to cover students at private Hong Kong universities
Some vocational grants would make them cheaper than public institutions
More than 900 students in private undergraduate degree programmes will receive subsidies of up to HK$70,000 a year under a new government scheme.
The HK$965 million pilot scheme, which the Education Bureau announced yesterday, has the capacity to subsidise 1,000 students a year from the academic year starting next year.
Most of its slots are for nursing and the creative industries.
Run by Chu Hai College, Hang Seng Management College, the Open University, Tung Wah College and the Vocational Training Council, individual subsidies last four to six years.
The three-year pilot scheme will support students who start in the academic years of 2015, 2016 and 2017. They will receive the subsidy for the duration of their programmes.
In the first year, 940 students will receive the grants, which give HK$70,000 for laboratory-based courses such as nursing and design and HK$40,000 for all others.
Acting Deputy Secretary for Education Pecvin Yong Pui-wan said the scheme would be reviewed after three years and more programmes might be added to fill the 60 places left in the quota of 1,000.
