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The expansion of the scheme for the admission of Hong Kong students to Mainland higher education institutions will provide students with a more diversified array of institution and programme choices and wider pathways, the Permanent Secretary for Education, Mrs Cherry Tse, said today (November 3).
The scheme is one of the supporting measures announced by the Vice-Premier of the State Council, Mr Li Keqiang, during his visit to Hong Kong in August last year.
The Ministry of Education announced on November 1 detailed arrangements for the scheme in 2013 for the admission of Hong Kong students to Mainland higher education institutions based on their results in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination and the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination, thus exempting them from taking the Joint Entrance Examination for Universities in the Mainland. A total of 70 Mainland higher education institutions will participate in the scheme in 2013.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Mainland Higher Education Expo (Expo), Mrs Tse said students would now have more choices with seven more institutions participating in the scheme in 2013 compared with 2012. She noted that the newly added institutions would offer some specialised programmes, including foreign languages, international relations and high-end technology.
She said the scheme has offered Hong Kong students another study pathway and would help equip them for their future development either on the Mainland or in Hong Kong, and assist in nurturing talent for both the Special Administrative Region and our country.
Mrs Tse also thanked the Ministry of Education for its great support in making the scheme a success in 2012, and the 70 Mainland higher education institutions for their participation in the Expo.
The Expo has been jointly organised by the Ministry of Education and the Education Bureau (EDB) to help students and parents gain a better understanding of the scheme.
The Expo is open to the public today from 10am to 7pm and tomorrow(Sunday) from 10am to 6pm at Kowloonbay International Trade and Exhibition Centre. Admission is free.
During the event there will be talks by the Ministry of Education on details of the application procedures 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 70 Mainland higher education institutions that are participating in the scheme will set up exhibition booths and organise talks to provide information on aspects such as the faculties and subjects, admission criteria, 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 on 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 EDB and Hok Yau Club have jointly compiled a handbook in Chinese on the Mainland higher education institutions admission scheme for Hong Kong students. The handbook provides comprehensive information on the scheme and further study in the Mainland, including information on all the institutions participating in the scheme, the programmes offered, strategy on programme choices, and sharing by graduates of Mainland universities. The handbook will be distributed free of charge at the Expo. The e-version has also been posted on the website of the EDB at (www.edb.gov.hk/expo12).
Ends/Saturday, November 3, 2012
Issued at HKT 10:44
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