About 7 700 outstanding students awarded government scholarships in 2021/22 academic year
28.10.2022

Some 7 700 students have been awarded scholarships and awards under the HKSAR Government Scholarship Fund (GSF) and the Self-financing Post-secondary Education Fund (SPEF) in the 2021/22 academic year, totalling about $190 million. In this academic year, a total of 510 students with special educational needs were given the Endeavour Merit Award/the Endeavour Scholarship under the two funds. In a short video, the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, congratulated the awardees of the scholarships and awards. She said that although the pandemic has had quite an impact on teaching and learning, students have risen to difficulties and challenges and demonstrated excellence on both academic and non-academic fronts, earning themselves well-deserved recognition. She mentioned that with strong support from the motherland and close connection with the world, Hong Kong will actively participate in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Belt and Road Initiative to foster more extensive exchanges and closer co-operation with global partners. She encouraged the awardees to continue the pursuit of excellence, keep an unyielding spirit and seize the opportunities arising from Hong Kong's future development. Some of the awardees were also invited by the Education Bureau (EDB) to share their joy, experiences and future study and work plans in the video clip. The video clip has been uploaded to the websites of the EDB ( www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/postsecondary/local-higher-edu/publicly-funded-programmes/scholarship.html ) and the Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education ( www.cspe.edu.hk/en/Overview-Measures-Fund-SPSS-Ceremony.html ). 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. Scholarships and awards under the GSF are Scholarships for Outstanding Performance, Targeted 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 or above programmes. A list of the 10 participating institutions is in Annex I. In the 2021/22 academic year, about 3 400 local students and about 1 100 non-locals were awarded the scholarships/awards. In terms of levels of study, about 3 500 students were at the undergraduate level or above, while about 1 000 students were at the sub-degree level. The Belt and Road (B&R) Scholarship was introduced under the Targeted Scholarship Scheme to encourage students from B&R countries and regions to pursue studies in Hong Kong. Ninety-nine students from 25 B&R countries have been awarded this scholarship for the first time in the 2021/22 academic year. 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. A list of 31 participating institutions is in Annex II. In this academic year, the SPEF offered scholarships and awards to about 3 000 local and about 200 non-local students. In terms of levels of study, about 1 900 of them pursued undergraduate studies while about 1 300 students were at the sub-degree level. Details of the scholarships and awards under the GSF are available at 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 at the Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education's website ( www.cspe.edu.hk/en/index.html ).