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

	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 Subsidy Scheme for Internet Access Charges Examination Fee Remission 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 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.

The Examination Fee Remission (EFR) Scheme is to provide assistance to needy students attending public examinations conducted by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA). Please refer to the General Examination Circular on Applications for Examination Fee Remission issued by the HKEAA for details of application and eligibility criteria.

Application Procedures

Application for 2011/2012 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. Applicant must be a parent or a guardian (as recognized under Guardianship of Minors Ordinance, Cap 13) of the student-applicant(s). 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 2011/12 in April 2011 if their 2010/11 Eligibility Certificates (ECs) have been submitted and received by the SFAA on or before 1 April 2011. Other families who wish to apply for student financial assistance may obtain the following application documents from District Offices or schools starting from May 2011:
 

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 2011, 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 2011. 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 2011/12 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.

All "Applications for Assessment of Eligibility" submitted on or after 1 June 2011 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 2011 . 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 2011 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 provided the applicant can pass the means test. If applicants submit their “Application for Assessment of Eligibility” at a date on or after 1 February 2012 (i.e. in the latter half of the 2011/12 school year), partial payment of SIA may be made to the successful applicants provided the applicant can pass the means test.

Under normal circumstances, the SFAA will not accept any “Application for Assessment of Eligibility” submitted on or after 1 March 2012. 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 2012 for their children attending course that commences during the period from 1 March 2012 to 31 May 2012, 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 for Financial Assistance Scheme(s)

Applicants receiving EC 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 2011 / 12 school year are listed in the table below. Please note that the AFI is not the average monthly income of a family.

* AFI thresholds for full level of assistance for 3-member and 4-member families are $36,000 and $33,120 respectively. For 2-member single-parent families and 3-member single-parent families, they are regarded as 3-member families and 4-member families respectively for determining the AFI thresholds for full level of assistance and calculation of AFI.

Amount of Assistance

School Textbook Assistance

For 2011/12 school year, the Textbook Grant Rates for various forms are listed as follows:

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 2011/12 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. TA and SIA will normally be disbursed in August 2011 to applicants who have successfully applied for textbook assistance in the 2010/11 academic year and have submitted application for assessment of eligibility for financial assistance together with all necessary supporting documents for the 2011/12 academic year in May 2011. Other first-time applicants will normally be disbursed TA and SIA in October. STS payment will also be arranged normally in October to eligible applicants.