Over 6 600 outstanding students awarded government scholarships in 2025/26 academic year (with photos)
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Over 6 600 meritorious post-secondary students received scholarships and awards, amounting to about $210 million in total. Both the GSF and the SPEF also give recognition to meritorious post-secondary students with special educational needs (SEN) through the Endeavour Merit Award and the Endeavour Scholarship. This year, a total of around 690 SEN students were given awards/scholarships.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Sze said Hong Kong's post-secondary education system enjoys an international reputation, with local universities ranking among the top in global rankings for the most international universities. This not only demonstrates the strength of Hong Kong's post-secondary education sector, but also attests to the effectiveness of the Government's long-term commitment to investing in education and enhancing educational competitiveness. The Education Bureau (EDB) has been consistently adhering to the principle of integrity and innovation, integrating itself into the overall national development. It has been seizing the opportunities brought about by the country's Belt and Road initiatives and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to deepen Hong Kong's role as an international post-secondary education hub and a cluster of talent, while striving to promote the "Study in Hong Kong" brand globally.
Dr Sze encouraged the awardees to continuously equip themselves, and strive to realise their personal aspirations, thereby commencing the pursuit of dreams from Hong Kong while giving back to society and contributing to the country.
The GSF was established in 2008 to attract outstanding local students to advance their studies at home, and meritorious non-local students to pursue higher education opportunities in Hong Kong. There are five types of scholarships and awards under the GSF, namely Scholarships for Outstanding Performance, Belt and Road (B&R) Scholarship, Talent Development Scholarship, Reaching Out Award and Endeavour Merit Award. Scholarships and awards are offered to students studying full-time publicly funded sub-degree, undergraduate-level and above programmes in Hong Kong. Up to mid-April this year, about 2 100 students received scholarships/awards in the 2025/26 academic year, including about 1 200 local students and about 900 non-local students. In terms of levels of study, about 1 500 students were at an undergraduate level and above, while about 600 students were at the sub-degree level. In addition, the B&R Scholarship was introduced to encourage students from B&R countries/regions to pursue studies in Hong Kong. In the 2025/26 academic year, 150 students from 33 B&R countries/regions were awarded this scholarship for the first time.
The Self-financing Post-secondary Scholarship Scheme (SPSS) was established under the SPEF in 2011 to promote the quality and sustainable development of the self-financing post-secondary sector. There are five types of scholarships and awards under the scheme, namely Outstanding Performance Scholarship, Best Progress Award, Talent Development Scholarship, Reaching Out Award and Endeavour Scholarship. These scholarships and awards are offered to students pursuing full-time locally accredited self-financing sub-degree or undergraduate programmes. In the 2025/26 academic year, the SPEF offered scholarships and awards to about 4 000 local students and about 500 non-local students. In terms of levels of study, about 2 500 of them pursued undergraduate studies, while about 2 000 students were at the sub-degree level.
A list of participating institutions is in Annex I. A broad distribution of the scholarship recipients is set out in Annex II. Details of the scholarships and awards under the GSF are available on the EDB's website (www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/postsecondary/local-higher-edu/publicly-funded-programmes/scholarship.html). Those under the SPSS as well as the SPEF are available on the Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education's website (www.cspe.edu.hk/en/index.html).
Ends/Thursday, April 23, 2026
Issued at HKT 19:00
Issued at HKT 19:00
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