The Education Bureau (EDB) announced today (December 14) the launch of the $1.26 billion Enhancement and Start-up Grant Scheme for Self-financing Post-secondary Education (ESGS) to provide financial support for self-financing post-secondary education institutions to develop and enhance programmes that meet market needs but require high start-up costs. 
      
     "The ESGS will help institutions better develop their own strengths and niche areas, strengthening strategic co-ordination between institutions. It will also help alleviate the institutions' need to fully recover the set-up costs from tuition fees, thus relieving the financial burden on students," a spokesman for the EDB said.
      
     Applications are invited from now until April 23, 2021. Independent non-profit-making education institutions offering full-time locally accredited local self-financing sub-degree or undergraduate (including top-up degree) programmes are eligible to apply. These institutions include:
 
(a) The Open University of Hong Kong;
 
(b) approved post-secondary colleges under the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap. 320); and
 
(c) post-secondary institutions registered under the Education Ordinance (Cap. 279).
 
     The ESGS covers both the development of new programmes and the enhancement of existing ones. It supports projects of the following nature, with a view to enhancing the teaching and learning in designated academic areas:
 
(a) significant development/enhancement of programme curriculum and pedagogies;

(b) recruitment/professional development of faculty members and teaching staff;

(c) procurement/upgrade of market-standard equipment/facilities to meet academic and professional requirements;

(d) provision of new/improvement to existing discipline-specific campus facilities/infrastructure; and

(e) other relevant discipline-specific expenditure areas that are in alignment with the objective of the scheme.

     The Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education (CSPE) will advise on the comparative merits of the proposals received under the ESGS, and make recommendations to the Secretary for Education. Funding for each proposal will generally be subject to a cap of $42 million. Funding beyond the cap may be provided on a case-by-case basis, subject to the actual utilisation of the funds of the ESGS and the merits of the proposal as advised by the CSPE.
      
     "The Government strives to promote the parallel development of the self-financing and publicly funded post-secondary education sectors. The launch of the ESGS implements the recommendation of the Task Force on Review of Self-financing Post-secondary Education that the Government provide dedicated support to self-financing institutions for developing their distinct character and niche areas, and for launching quality programmes which will better respond to our community needs," the spokesman said.
      
     Further details of the ESGS can be found at www.cspe.edu.hk/en/esgs.html.

Ends/Monday, December 14, 2020
Issued at HKT 11:25

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