Financial Assistance for Primary and Secondary Students (School Textbook Assistance / Student Travel Subsidy Schemes / Subsidy Scheme for Internet Access Charges)

	Eligibility Criteria
	Financial Assistance Schemes
	Application Procedures
	Method of Assessment
	Level of Assistance
	Amount of Assistance
	Payment Arrangements and Payment Dates
	Statistics School Textbook Assistance Scheme Student Travel Subsidy Scheme Cross-net Travel Subsidy Scheme Cross-net Travel Subsidy Scheme merged with Student Travel Subsidy Scheme with effect from 2004 / 05 school year. Senior Secondary Fee Remission Scheme (For 2003/04 to 2007/08 school years)

Eligibility Criteria

	Applicants must pass the means test;
	The student-applicants must be unmarried Hong Kong Residents, residing with the family of applicants, with right of abode, right to land or valid permission to remain without any condition of stay (other than the limit of stay) in Hong Kong. Students holding visitor visas, two-way exit permits, student visas or who are dependents of non-local students / student-visa / visitor-visa holders are not eligible to apply for student financial assistance;
	The schools the student-applicants are attending must belong to the category as stipulated in the following schemes:

Financial Assistance Schemes

The Student Financial Assistance Agency (SFAA) administers the following financial assistance schemes for needy primary and secondary students:

The School Textbook Assistance (TA) Scheme is to provide assistance to needy students in government, aided, per caput grant schools and local private schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme for covering the costs of essential textbooks and miscellaneous school-related expenses.

The Student Travel Subsidy (STS) Scheme is to provide travel subsidy to needy students receiving formal primary, secondary education or attending a full-time day course up to first degree level in an acceptable institution, residing beyond 10 minutes walking distance from school and traveling to school by public transport.

The Subsidy Scheme for Internet Access Charges (SIA) is introduced with effect from the 2010/11 school year. It is to provide subsidy to needy families with children who are full-time students receiving education at primary or secondary level, or full-time students pursuing Project Yi Jin programmes or equivalent courses of the Vocational Training Council to meet the Internet access charges for e-learning at home for their children. The subsidy is granted on a household basis. Eligible families will receive a flat-rate cash grant, regardless of the number of children in the family,.

Application Procedures

Application for 2010/2011 is processed in two stages, namely the “Application for Assessment of Eligibility” and the “Application by Scheme”. “Application for Assessment of Eligibility” is family-based. Applicants must be parents of the student-applicants. Otherwise, applicants must explain in detail why this cannot be compiled with in the Application Form. Provided that the reason given is acceptable, the SFAA will continue to process the application. Applicants should submit fresh application for every school year and fill in the form the particulars of all unmarried children residing with them. Besides, each family should submit one application only. Multiple applications from the same applicant will be voided and lead to delay in processing the application.

Stage 1 - Application for Assessment of Eligibility

Families are provided with an Application Form B for 2010/11 in April 2010 if their 2009/10 Eligibility Certificates (ECs) have been submitted and received by the SFAA on or before 1 April 2010. Other families who wish to apply for student financial assistance may obtain the following application documents from District Offices or schools starting from May 2010:
 

Applicants are required to submit the completed application form, mailing label and copies of the relevant supporting documents to the SFAA at Tsimshatsui Post Office Box No. 96824 by post within May 2010, using the addressed envelope provided. Sufficient postage must be affixed for proper delivery of mail. If applicants have provided all necessary information, the SFAA will issue notification of result to the applicants in August 2010. For families who can pass the means test, ECs will be issued to those children whom the applicants have indicated the need for an EC in the application form.

Families currently in receipt of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) should apply directly to the Social Welfare Department (SWD) for school-related assistance for their children’s examination fees, expenses on textbook, stationery, travelling, Internet access charges at home etc. for the 2010/11 school year. They do not need to submit “Application for Assessment of Eligibility” to the SFAA. If the student-applicants are not covered by the CSSA or are applying for the Full Fee Reimbursement (Project Yi Jin) and Fee Reimbursement (Financial Assistance Scheme for Designated Evening Adult Education Courses), such applicants may submit the “Application for Assessment of Eligibility” to the SFAA. The SFAA may request the applicant to submit a copy of the “Certificate of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Recipients (for Medical Waivers)” issued by SWD for verification, if necessary. Families with members in receipt of Old Age Allowance and / or Disability Allowance can still submit the “Application for Assessment of Eligibility” to the SFAA for financial assistance.

Families who are enjoying one-year free Internet access services under the "Computer Recycling Programme" of the Education Bureau (EDB) throughout the 2010/11 school year will not be eligible for SIA at the same time. If their free Internet access services expire within the 2010/11 school year, they may apply for SIA upon the expiry of the free services. The SFAA will provide part of or the entire amount of SIA to eligible applicants depending on the expiry date of their free Internet access services and result of their means test.

All "Applications for Assessment of Eligibility" submitted on or after 1 June 2010 will be handled by the SFAA after the applications received in May are processed. Notification of result to these applicants will therefore be deferred.
 

If applicants need to apply for the TA, their “Application for Assessment of Eligibility” should reach the SFAA on or before 31 October 2010 . Otherwise, TA will not be released even if they can pass the means test. If applicants submit their “Application for Assessment of Eligibility” on or after 1 November 2010 and pass the means test, payment of STS (if applicable) to the successful student-applicants may be effected from the date of approval for application. If applicants submit their “Application for Assessment of Eligibility” at a date on or after 1 February 2011 (i.e. in the latter half of the 2010/11 school year) and pass the means test, partial payment of SIA may be made to the successful applicants.

In general, the SFAA will not accept any “Application for Assessment of Eligibility” submitted on or after 1 March 2011. The SFAA may give special consideration to cases with exceptional circumstances. If applicants need to apply for student financial assistance on or after 1 March 2011 for their children attending course that commences during the period from 1 March 2011 to 31 May 2011, they should approach relevant institutions for details of the application procedures and deadlines. They should also submit application documents to the institutions, which will forward them to the SFAA for processing.

Stage 2 - Application by Scheme

Applicants must select the appropriate Scheme(s) in the EC they want to apply for their children and submit the completed EC to the school in which the child is attending within the designated period. In general, the SFAA will not accept any EC submitted after the deadline. Schools will certify the student-applicants’ status and attendance and then forward the ECs to the SFAA according to the schedule.

Applicants who have any enquiries concerning the eligibility and application procedures may contact the SFAA at 8226 7067, or write to the SFAA at Tsimshatsui Post Office Box No. 96824.

The Means Test

The SFAA will use the "Adjusted Family Income" (AFI) mechanism as the means test to assess the eligibility of a family for student financial assistance and its assistance level. The AFI mechanism is based on the following formula:

AFI =	Gross annual income of the family
	Number of family members + (1)

	Gross annual income of the family includes the annual income of the applicant and his/her spouse; 30% of the annual income of unmarried child / children residing with the family if applicable; and the contribution from relatives / friends if applicable.
	The members of a family normally refer to the applicant, his/her spouse, unmarried child / children residing with the family and the dependent parent(s) who are supported by the applicant and/or his/her spouse (Please refer to the Guidance Notes on Application for Assessment of Eligibility for definition of “Dependent Parent”).
	For single-parent families of 2 to 3 members, the ‘plus 1 factor’ in the divisor of the AFI formula will be increased to 2.

Level of Assistance

The AFI eligibility benchmarks for various levels of assistance in the 2010/11 school year are listed below. Please note that the AFI is not the average monthly income of a family.

Amount of Assistance

School Textbook Assistance

For 2009 / 10 school year, the Textbook Grant Rates for various forms are listed as follows:

 Textbook Grant Rates for 2010/11 school year will be announced later.

Student Travel Subsidy

The subsidy is calculated on the basis of the average unit fare relevant to the districts in which the student studies and resides during term-time.

Subsidy for Internet Access Charges

Full rate of subsidy for Internet access in the 2010/11 school year is $1,300 per household while half rate subsidy is $650 per household.

Payment Arrangements and Payment Dates

The SFAA will release financial assistance by autopay to those students who are confirmed to be eligible for the respective Schemes applied. However, due to the large number of applications received, notification will not be issued to individual applicant. The SFAA will notify applicant of the payment date via the school their child is attending so that the applicant can check their bank passbook as appropriate. The SFAA will arrange payment of TA and SIA to eligible applicants normally from October whereas STS payment will be arranged from November.