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The Education Bureau (EDB) today (January 14) announced that the 2010/11 school year Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS) would be open for application by parents from next Monday (January 18).
Parents of children attending nursery and lower and upper classes in eligible local non-profit-making kindergartens in the 2010/11 school year may receive a fee subsidy through the PEVS, which was introduced in 2007.
"A student-applicant must be a Hong Kong resident born on or before December 31, 2007, who will attend kindergarten classes in a local non-profit-making kindergarten eligible for the voucher scheme in the 2010/11 school year and who does not hold a Certificate of Eligibility for the PEVS. Students who have already been issued the Certificate of Eligibility for the PEVS need not apply again," an EDB spokesman said.
From January 18, parents may obtain application forms for Assessment of Eligibility for PEVS for the 2010/11 school year together with information leaflets from District Offices, Post Offices, Regional Education Offices of the EDB, and the Student Financial Assistance Agency (SFAA).
Application forms and other related information can also be downloaded from the EDB website (www.edb.gov.hk) and the SFAA website (www.sfaa.gov.hk).
Parents who wish to receive the Certificate of Eligibility for PEVS before the beginning of the 2010/11 school year are advised to send their application forms together with supporting documents by post to the SFAA, Tsim Sha Tsui PO Box 95161, Kowloon, or drop all relevant documents into the drop-in box at the office of the SFAA on 12/F, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, on or before May 31.
Kindergartens eligible for voucher redemption must be non-profit-making, offer a local curriculum and charge a tuition fee not exceeding $24,000 per student per annum (for half-day classes) or $48,000 per student per annum (for whole day classes).
In the 2010/11 school year, all newly enrolled students or students transferred to a new kindergarten will receive a fee subsidy only when they are attending eligible local non-profit-making kindergartens. The list of kindergartens eligible for the voucher scheme has been published in the kindergarten profile for parents' reference. Details are available on the homepage of the EDB.
The amount of fee subsidy is $14,000 per eligible student per annum in the 2010/11 school year. It will increase to $16,000 in the 2011/12 school year. The level of fee subsidy for the 2012/13 school year and afterwards will be announced in due course.
All parents on Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) with children at the age appropriate for pre-primary education, like other parents with pre-primary children, are required to submit applications to the SFAA for the PEVS in order to receive the relevant fee subsidy, if they have not been issued the Certificate of Eligibility for PEVS. If financial assistance on top of the subsidy from the voucher is required, they should approach the Social Welfare Department (SWD) for additional assistance under the CSSA Scheme.
To disseminate information on the PEVS to the public, the EDB will launch a series of publicity items ranging from TV and radio APIs to newspaper advertisements, posters and leaflets.
For details of the PEVS, please visit the EDB's homepage or call 2891 0088. Enquiries about applications may be directed to the SFAA hotline at 2154 2130. Enquiries about applications for financial assistance for pre-primary education of CSSA children may be directed to the SWD hotline at 2343 2255.
Ends/Thursday, January 14, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:00
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