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The Education Bureau (EDB) today (October 15) welcomed the announcement by the Ministry of Education of the detailed arrangements on the Scheme for Admission of Hong Kong Students to Mainland Higher Education Institutions (Admission Scheme) for 2015. The number of Mainland higher education institutions participating in the Admission Scheme will increase to 78. In addition, admission by the institutions will further cater for local students with special education needs and non-Chinese speaking students.
A spokesman for the EDB said, "The Admission Scheme will admit Hong Kong students based on their results in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination and exempt them from taking the Joint Entrance Examination for Mainland Institutions, hence relieving their pressure and enabling them to concentrate on their preparation for the HKDSE examination. Candidates sitting for the HKDSE Examination in 2015 are welcome to enrol in the scheme.
"There are a number of enhancements to the Admission Scheme in 2015. First, there are three more institutions participating in the scheme compared with the figure in 2014, namely Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) and Guangdong Medical College. The institutions (see the list of institutions in the Annex) come from 14 provinces and municipalities in the Mainland, so students will have more choices.
"Second, in terms of admission principles for institutions, the Ministry of Education has added a requirement that 'participating institutions cannot refuse to admit candidates with disabilities if the candidates can fulfil the academic requirements, complete the enrolled programmes with their physical condition and take care of themselves in daily life'. This serves to further cater for Hong Kong students with special education needs to pursue study in the Mainland.
"Furthermore, the flexibility as regards minimum entrance requirements will be maintained following the practice of last year. Institutions will adopt an alternative minimum entrance requirement of '3232' (i.e. attaining Level 3 for Chinese Language and Mathematics and Level 2 for English Language and Liberal Studies) for students nominated by their schools under the School Principal Nomination Scheme."
The enrolment process of the Admission Scheme in 2015 will follow last year's practice and consist of both online application and subsequent on-site confirmation of application. According to the admission procedure for 2015, students can apply online from March 1 to 20, 2015, and perform on-site confirmation and pay the enrolment fee at the China Education Exchange (HK) Centre from March 16 to 31 (except Sundays). Institutions may arrange interviews based on the application information submitted by candidates. School admission will start in late July. Institutions will announce admission results and arrange supplementary enrolment based on their admission results in early August.
Details of the scheme are available at the EDB's website (www.edb.gov.hk/expo14).
To help students and parents gain a better understanding of the scheme, the Ministry of Education and the EDB will jointly hold the 2014 Mainland Higher Education Expo on November 1 and 2.
During the event, there will be talks by the Ministry of Education on the details of the application procedure and admission arrangements under the scheme, as well as briefing sessions conducted by representatives from the institutions on the characteristics and career prospects of individual programmes.
The 78 Mainland higher education institutions participating in the Admission Scheme for 2015 will set up exhibition booths and organise talks to provide information on areas such as features of the faculties and subjects, admission criteria, the number of places and tuition fees. There will also be sharing sessions during which some Hong Kong students who have graduated from Mainland institutions will talk about their study life in the Mainland. In addition, human resources consultants and senior management members of large corporations will give talks on the career prospects of students after graduation from Mainland higher education institutions.
The Expo will be held at the Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre from 10am to 7pm on November 1 (Saturday), and from 10am to 6pm on November 2 (Sunday). Admission is free.
The EDB and Hok Yau Club have jointly compiled the "Handbook on the Scheme for Admission of HK students to Mainland Higher Education Institutions". The handbook provides comprehensive information on the scheme and further study in the Mainland, including information on all the institutions participating in the scheme, programmes offered, strategy on programme choices, and sharing by graduates of Mainland universities. The handbook will be distributed free of charge at the Expo. Its e-version will also be posted on the website of the EDB after the Expo (www.edb.gov.hk/expo14).
In addition, the EDB launched the Mainland University Study Subsidy Scheme (MUSSS) in August 2014 to support Hong Kong students in need who will pursue undergraduate studies in the Mainland under the Admission Scheme. Under the MUSSS, students who pass a means test will receive either a full-rate subsidy of $15,000 or half-rate subsidy of $7,500 per student per year, depending on their needs. The MUSSS will benefit three cohorts of students entering the first year of undergraduate studies in the 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 academic years. Application details for 2015 will be announced in mid-2015.
Ends/Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Issued at HKT 16:22
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