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The following is issued on behalf of the Student Financial Assistance Agency:
The Student Financial Assistance Agency (SFAA) will arrange for advanced disbursement of textbook assistance to around 30,000 primary and secondary students with special economic needs for 2010/11 school year on August 24, 2010. SFAA will also disburse to these students on the same day the $1,000 one-off support grant.
Through advancing disbursement of textbook assistance, SFAA aims to facilitate the needy parents to purchase textbooks of the new school year for their children before start of the school year.
A spokesman for SFAA said, "SFAA has implemented the 'Principal Recommendation Scheme' from 2006/07 school year, which aims to enable the principals of primary and secondary schools to recommend needy students to submit applications to SFAA early so that these eligible students can receive advanced payment of textbook assistance before start of the school year. In order to benefit more needy students, SFAA has from this year extended the coverage of the above scheme. Apart from continuing to invite principals to recommend students to submit applications to SFAA early, SFAA has taken the initiative to invite families of relatively lower income as indicated in its records to submit applications early. These families with relatively lower income were selected on the basis of the results of the existing means-tested formula for student financial assistance. With the extension of the scheme, the number of student beneficiaries has increased substantially, from about 4,000 students each year who benefited under the Principal Recommendation Scheme, to about 30,000 students from low-income families who were invited to submit applications early this year. We believe this measure could take care of more needy families."
The textbook grant rates for 2010/11 school year are not yet available. SFAA has therefore pitched the amount of advanced disbursement of textbook assistance to eligible students in August 2010 at 80% of the relevant textbook grant rates for 2009/10 school year. As and when the textbook grant rates for 2010/11 are available later in September/October, SFAA would adjust the assistance receivable by these students based on the latest rates. SFAA would notify individual applicants of the details of adjustment.
The number of primary and secondary students who will benefit from this arrangement are in the region of 14,000 and 16,000 respectively. The total disbursement amounts to $51 million. The actual amount of textbook assistance receivable by individual student varies according to his/her level of study. For example, a full-grant primary student will receive an advanced disbursement of $1,948 while a full-grant junior secondary student will receive an advanced disbursement of $2,142.
In addition, the Government will implement a new cash subsidy scheme for Internet access charges from 2010/11 school year, to provide subsidies to low-income families with children receiving full-time primary or secondary level education. Under this scheme, SFAA will also disburse, on August 24, a full rate subsidy of $1,300 or a half rate subsidy of $650 for the above families depending on the result of the means test.
The $1,000 one-off support grant is one of the relief measures announced by the Financial Secretary in his 2010/11 Budget, which aims to provide additional subsidies for needy parents to meet the miscellaneous education-related expenses of their children in the new school year. In addition, the Financial Secretary announced in the 2010/11 Budget that the Government would implement a new cash subsidy scheme for Internet access charges to facilitate low-income families and reduce their burden to provide their primary and secondary children with Internet learning opportunities at home.
The Textbook assistance, $1,000 one-off grant and the subsidy for Internet access charges will be credited through auto-transfer to the bank account designated by the applicant.
As for the majority of other applicants, SFAA will continue with the existing arrangement to start releasing the result of application for assessment of eligibility for student finance to parents of primary and secondary students in late August 2010. Applicants passing the means test will be invited to apply for individual financial assistance schemes. Subject to their meeting the eligibility criteria for individual schemes, SFAA will arrange for disbursement of subsidies to the students/families concerned starting from October 2010.
Members of the public can dial SFAA's hotline at 8226 7067 for any enquiry.
Ends/Monday, August 16, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:24
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