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The Secretary for Education (SED), Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, and several hundred teachers and students from Hong Kong secondary schools today (July 2) visited Fudan University in Shanghai, where they met and exchanged views with a group of young Hong Kong people who are currently studying undergraduate programmes, undertaking internships or working in Shanghai.
The visit was part of the exchange programme organised by the Education Bureau to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the fifth anniversary of the founding of the Passing on the Torch programme.
"The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has made every effort to increase the opportunities for students to further their studies. This year the Policy Address suggested not only the provision of an additional 2 000 subsidised opportunities for students to study undergraduate programmes in Hong Kong, but also the introduction of the Mainland University Study Subsidy Scheme," Mr Ng said.
"The new initiative will provide needy students pursuing undergraduate studies on the Mainland under the 'Scheme for Admission of Hong Kong Students to Mainland Higher Education Institutions' with a maximum of HK$15,000 per student per year."
Mr Ng pointed out that since its inception in the 2012/13 academic year, the Admission Scheme has run smoothly and has been well-received by both the Mainland institutions and Hong Kong students.
In the 2014/15 academic year, the number of participating institutions rose to 75 from 70 in the previous year. The number of applications also rose to 3 249 from 2 279, representing an increase of 43 per cent.
Mr Ng said he expected that the number of Hong Kong students to be admitted to Mainland institutions would also rise this year, as compared with 1 188 last year. If the funding proposal can be approved by the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council as scheduled, eligible students will benefit from the Scheme as early as the 2014/15 academic year.
On HKSAR Establishment Day yesterday, Mr Ng together with 660 teachers and students of the exchange tour attended the Flag Raising Ceremony at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. They also visited the Great Hall of the People where the participants were received by the Vice-President, Mr Li Yuanchao.
Mr Ng then led 330 of the teachers and students on a trip to Shanghai by high-speed train, while the rest went to Tianjin to continue their exchange activities. In the evening, Mr Ng together with the teachers and students participated in the "Dialogue with Celebrity" programme to listen to former national basketball team player Yao Ming talk about his life experiences.
During the five-day exchange programme, the participating teachers and students took part in a variety of activities in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai to see for themselves from multiple perspectives the cultural, economic and technological developments on the Mainland.
The SED will return to Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon.
Ends/Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:00
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