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Following is a question by the Hon Cheung Man-kwong and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (February 18):
Question:
Regarding the Tertiary Student Finance Scheme - Publicly-funded Programmes and the Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students (the finance assistance schemes), will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the types of income counted, the items of deductible expenses and the maximum amount of deduction for each item in calculating the total family income of an applicant under each finance assistance scheme; whether the Student Financial Assistance Agency (SFAA) will consider classifying the major expenses (such as mortgage repayments) of an applicant as items of deductible expenses; if it will not, of the reasons for that;
(b) of the year of the statistical figures to which SFAA had made reference, and the criteria SFAA adopted, when deriving the amounts of subsidies payable to students for their living expenses under each finance assistance scheme as well as the ceiling on total family income for each level of finance assistance; and the respective current amounts of such figures after inflationary adjustments;
(c) as it was reported that the SFAA indicated in May 2006 that a consultant had been commissioned to undertake a one-year study of the finance assistance schemes regarding the calculation of living expenses as well as the income of the applicants etc., whether the study has been completed; if so, of the consultancy fees, findings of the study (including the proposed recommendations), and the implementation date for the relevant recommendations; if not, the reasons for that;
(d) of the number and percentage of the students of each University Grants Committee-funded institution who participated in the activities of overseas exchanges, internship or visits in the past three academic years; whether such students have received any publicly-funded subsidies; if they have, of a breakdown, by the mode of subsidy, of the numbers of beneficiaries and the amounts of such subsidies; if not, the reasons for that; whether there is any student who was unable to take part in such exchange programmes because of financial difficulties;
(e) whether it will consider including expenses on overseas exchanges, internship and accommodation in student quarters, as well as information and technology expenses in relation to studies, in the scope of subsidies of the finance assistance schemes; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(f) of the numbers of disabled students studying in tertiary institutions who had applied for and received grants or loans in each of the past three academic years; and whether it has considered providing such students with subsidies in the form of grants instead of loans, taking into account the burden of expenses on them and their repayment ability; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) The Student Financial Assistance Agency (SFAA) currently adopts a standard income assessment mechanism in processing applications under the Tertiary Student Finance Scheme - Publicly-funded Programmes (TSFS) and the Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students (FASP) (the financial assistance schemes). This income assessment mechanism, which is also applicable to various other financial assistance schemes under SFAA, operates on the basis of the Adjusted Family Income (AFI) formula, which takes into account the total annual income of the family and the number of family members in determining the eligibility level of subsidy for the applicant. The types of income counted towards the total annual income of the family include the following:
(i) the income of the applicant's parents, including part-time income, rental income and maintenance fee, etc;
(ii) 30% of the income of the applicant's unmarried siblings who are residing with the applicant;
(iii) allowances received by the applicants during their study, such as studentship, income received from appointments by institution or income received from attending graduation-tied placement; and
(iv) contributions from the applicant's relatives, such as contributions towards mortgage payment or financial support to the family from living away siblings, etc.
Under the existing mechanism, when deriving the total family income, the medical expenses of family members who are chronically ill or permanently incapacitated are deductible. The amount deductible per family member is subject to a ceiling, which is revised annually according to the movement of the Consumer Price Index. In the 2008/09 academic year, the ceiling of deductible medical expenses per family member is $14,590.
We consider the existing mechanism fair, simple and effective. Owing to the varied nature of the mode and level of expenses of each individual family, with the exception of medical expenses of family members who are chronically ill or permanent incapacitated, we have no intention of including other expenses as deductible expenses.
(b) The current ceiling of financial assistance for living expenses under the financial assistance schemes was determined on the basis of data collected in the Student Expenditure Survey conducted in the 1988/89 academic year. The actual ceiling amount is updated annually on the basis of the Student Price Index provided by the Census and Statistics Department in order to reflect price changes. In the 2008/09 academic year, the ceiling of financial assistance for living expenses is $35,670.
The maximum total family income corresponding to each tier of financial assistance was introduced in 1995 upon completion of a review. The actual amounts are adjusted annually according to the movement of the Consumer Price Index to reflect inflationary adjustments. The amounts for the 2008/09 academic year are at Annex A.
(c) SFAA has commissioned a consultancy study in September 2007 to review the current mechanism of calculating the living expenses loan under the financial assistance schemes in order to set up a more appropriate and effective mechanism for deriving the levels of financial assistance for eligible students. The consultancy study involves collection and analysis of information and data from eligible students of publicly-funded institutions. The study requires a longer than expected time to complete owing to the complexity of process. The consultancy study is still in progress and we shall consult stakeholders at an appropriate time.
(d) The number and percentage share of students from each University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded institutions who participated in exchange activities in the 2005/06 to 2007/08 academic years are set out in Annex B.
In 2002, the Government made available a sum of $120 million for providing a grant to support an expansion of student exchange programmes of the UGC-funded institutions at the undergraduate level in the three years starting from the 2002/03 academic year. Separately, the Administration has since 2003 launched four rounds of Matching Grant Scheme (MGS) of $1 billion each for awarding grants to institutions to match private donations secured by them. The resources secured under MGS can be used in a number of areas, including "student-oriented activities and development programmes" which cover, inter alia, the conduct of student exchange programmes.
In addition, all eligible students for TSFS (including students with financial difficulties) who have passed the means test, can apply for extra grant from SFAA to cover expenses on compulsory overseas field trips, in addition to the basic grant and loan offered to them on the basis of their financial conditions. The financial assistance covers the necessary expenses on travel, meals and accommodation, etc. Upon confirmation on their eligibility from the concerned institutions, SFAA will release this extra grant to these students according to the percentage of financial assistance they are entitled under TSFS. In the 2005/06 to 2007/08 academic years, the relevant statistics are set out in Annex C.
(e) As mentioned in our reply to section (c), we are conducting a consultancy study to review the current mechanism of calculating living expenses under the financial assistance schemes, including the scope of students' expenses, in order to work out a more appropriate and effective mechanism to derive the levels of financial assistance for eligible students.
(f) At present, all disabled students who are receiving Disability Allowance from the Social Welfare Department may apply for means-tested financial assistance under the financial assistance schemes which include a non-repayable grant and a low-interest loan to cover tuition fees, academic expenses and living expenses. They may also apply for an additional discretionary low-interest loan for living expenses. The maximum amount of this discretionary loan is 50% of the maximum loan for living expenses under the financial assistance schemes. In the 2008/09 academic year, the maximum amount of discretionary loan is $17,835.
Students who are recipients of Disability Allowance should notify SFAA when applying for financial assistance so as to enable the Agency to process their applications for grant and loan, and discretionary loan. For disabled students who have not declared their status in their applications, SFAA will have no knowledge of their health conditions, and will therefore process their applications according to regular procedures. According to SFAA's record, the number of disabled applicants who were recipients of Disability Allowance are 78, 64 and 63 from the 2005/06 to 2007/08 academic years respectively, and all of them were offered with grant and/or loan.
We have no plan to provide other types of financial assistance to disabled students for the time being. We shall continue to closely monitor the situation, and conduct review(s) as and when necessary.
Ends/Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Issued at HKT 15:31
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