The Education Bureau (EDB) today (September 19) issued a circular memorandum to all secondary day schools, primary schools, special schools and kindergartens in Hong Kong, announcing the arrangements for the provision of a student grant to day-school students in the 2022/23 school year.
 
     An EDB spokesman said, "The Government provides a student grant of $2,500 for secondary day-school, primary school and kindergarten students every school year. The provision of the grant has been regularised starting from the 2020/21 school year to alleviate parents' financial burden." 
 
     The student grant is non-means-tested. All students, as at the date of application, studying in secondary day schools, primary schools and special schools (including public sector schools, Direct Subsidy Scheme schools, English Schools Foundation schools and private schools) as well as kindergartens (whether having joined the kindergarten education scheme or not) offering local or non-local curriculum in Hong Kong are eligible for the grant. Students of evening schools, students of private studies, holders of student visas for entry into Hong Kong for studies and holders of the recognisance forms issued by the Immigration Department are not within the scope of subsidy.
 
     The spokesman continued, "Taking into account that there are some students who should meet the aforementioned eligibility criteria but attend other programmes owing to special circumstances, we also deem the following students eligible for the grant: (a) children at the age of 2 years and 8 months or above as at September 1 of the school year concerned attending a Special Child Care Centre (SCCC) subsidised by the Social Welfare Department owing to special needs; (b) newly arrived children attending a full-time Initiation Programme funded by the EDB; and (c) students taking full-time programmes for Secondary Three school leavers offered by the Vocational Training Council (VTC). We will issue letters to relevant organisations and institutions today to inform them of the details."
 
     The spokesman said, "Schools can collect the application forms at the respective Regional Education Offices from tomorrow (September 20), while SCCCs and the VTC can collect the application forms at the EDB's Special Duties Office. Parents are advised to duly complete the application forms and return them to the schools concerned as soon as possible. Schools have to submit the completed forms to the EDB for follow-up on or before November 4. The EDB will normally disburse the subsidy gradually within about six weeks after receiving the duly completed applications. We will contact parents via SMS and email as appropriate to inform them of the status of their applications."
 
     In addition, the EDB will implement the pilot scheme for electronic submission of applications for the student grant in government schools in the 2022/23 school year. Applicants can submit online applications for students studying in government schools via the Student Grant e-Submission Platform (SEP). They can also check the application status, and update or amend the information on the SEP. The EDB will draw experience from the pilot scheme and explore the feasibility of extending the electronic submission to other schools in the future. 
 
     For details of the student grant, please visit the EDB website (www.edb.gov.hk/en/student-parents/support-subsidies/student-grant/index.html). 

Ends/Monday, September 19, 2022
Issued at HKT 16:30

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