Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme

The Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (hereafter referred to as the 'PEVS') provides fee subsidy for parents/legal guardians/registered custodians to meet towards school fees for pre-primary education of their children in the form of pre-primary education vouchers. Eligible children who attend nursery, lower or upper classes in eligible local non-profit-making kindergartens or Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centres (hereafter collectively referred to as kindergartens) may benefit from PEVS. Parents may refer to the Profile of Kindergartens and Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centres, accessible at http://www.chsc.hk/kindergarten/en, for information on the list of kindergartens joining PEVS.

Eligibility Criteria 2012/13

Hong Kong residents 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; and

born on or before 31 December 2009 and will be attending kindergarten classes in the 2012/13 school year. Those who were born on or after 1 January 2010 is not eligible to apply for PEVS for the 2012/13 school year.

Parents in receipt of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance with children who can fulfill the criteria in paragraph 2.1 above, and who are not in possession of a Certificate of Eligibility for PEVS, are required to apply for PEVS, like other pre-primary children, so as to receive fee subsidy through PEVS.

Children who are existing beneficiaries of the Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme (KCFRS), will attend kindergarten classes in the 2012/13 school year and are able to meet the eligibility criteria for PEVS as set out in paragraph 2.1 above, are advised to apply for PEVS to receive fee subsidy in the first instance. If the subsidy is not enough to cover the entire school fee, needy families may apply for additional financial assistance under the KCFRS in 2012/13 separately.

Application Procedures 2012/13

“Application for Assessment of Eligibility for the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme” is family-based. Each family is advised to submit one application only. Applicants must be parents of the student-applicants, otherwise applicants must explain in detail why such requirement cannot be complied with in Part IV of the Application Form (‘Part IV’). The Student Financial Assistance Agency (hereafter referred to as the ‘SFAA’) may cease to process the application if no reasons for non-compliance are given in Part IV or the reasons given are not acceptable to the SFAA.

Applicants should only provide particulars of children who were born on or before 31 December 2009 and who will be attending kindergarten classes in 2012/13 in the application form.

Data provided by the applicants in the application form must be supported by copies of relevant documents. Insufficient information may lead to delay in processing and/or invalidation of an application by the SFAA.

The following application documents are available at the District Offices, the Post Offices, the Regional Education Offices of the Education Bureau (EDB) and SFAA –

The documents can also be downloaded from EDB's homepage at http://www.edb.gov.hk or SFAA's homepage at http://www.sfaa.gov.hk.

Applicants may submit the completed application form and copies of the relevant supporting documents by post to the SFAA at TSTPO Box 95161, Kowloon.  Sufficient postage must be affixed for proper delivery of mail.

Applicants may also enclose the documents in an envelope, sealed with front cover labelled “Application for the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (2012/13)” and drop it into the drop-in box of the SFAA on 12/F, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon.

Notification of Results

The SFAA will generally take 6 to 8 weeks upon receipt of the application and all necessary information to complete processing of the application.  The SFAA will inform applicant of the result by post.  Each eligible student-applicant will be issued with a “Certificate of Eligibility”.

The Certificate of Eligibility of the student-applicant must be produced to the eligible local non-profit-making kindergarten which the student-applicant is admitted for redemption. Applicants who wish to successfully obtain the Certificates of Eligibility for the student-applicants attending kindergarten before the start of the 2012/13 school year are advised to apply for assessment of eligibility for the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme on or before 31 May 2012.

Procedures to obtain fee subsidy with the Certificate of Eligibility

Original of the Certificate of Eligibility must be presented to the eligible local non-profit-making kindergarten which the child is enrolled upon the request of the kindergarten so that the kindergarten can arrange for voucher redemption with the EDB and parents can at the same time receive fee subsidy.

If the student-applicant is not admitted to the kindergarten in the first month of the 2012/13 school year, the fee subsidy from PEVS will be calculated on a pro-rata basis with reference to the month of application for PEVS or on the basis of the period of admission in the school year whichever is the later. Duly completed applications must be submitted to the SFAA for processing before the close of the school year so as to effect redemption within the school year. Request for retrospective redemption of fee subsidy for any period in the previous school year will not be accepted.

Review Mechanism

If applicants disagree with the result of the assessment, they may apply in writing to the SFAA for re-assessment within 30 calendar days from the issue date of the notification of result, providing detailed justifications and documentary evidence in support of their application. The application for re-assessment must be duly signed by the applicant. The SFAA will not accept any late submission for re-assessment of eligibility. Re-assessment of eligibility normally takes 90 days.

Enquiry

Applicants may visit EDB’s homepage at http://www.edb.gov.hk for details of PEVS or SFAA’s homepage at http://www.sfaa.gov.hk for information on application.  For enquiries on individual applications, applicants may also call the following enquiry hotline –

The “Certificate of Eligibility” is to certify the eligibility of the student-applicant for PEVS.  Each Certificate has a unique certificate number.  The name, date of birth and identity document number of the eligible child as well as the validity period of the Certificate will be shown on the Certificate.

The validity period of the Certificate of Eligibility is determined on the basis of the kindergarten classes the eligible student-applicants are attending in 2012/13, and will range from 1 to 3 years. Details are illustrated in the table below -

Please note that each eligible child is provided with a maximum of three years of fee subsidy under PEVS.

Children reaching the age of 6 or above should normally attend primary schools. For enquiry on admission to Primary One, parents may call the School Places Allocation Section of the EDB at 2832 7700 / 2832 7740 or the 24-hour automatic telephone enquiry system at 2891 0088. If parents consider it necessary that their children should take pre-primary education in 2012/13, and the children have never applied for PEVS before, parents may submit an application to the SFAA for consideration together with documentary proof showing the admission of their children to a kindergarten in 2012/13 and a declaration from the parents that their children have not participated in the Primary One Admission for September 2012.

Successful applicant shall, during the validity period of the Certificate of Eligibility and for a period of one year thereafter, maintain all information and documents relating to this application fully cooperate with the officers of the EDB, the SFAA and other persons duly authorized by the Government and promptly provide all such information and documents which any one of them may from time to time request for inspection, verification, photocopying, or otherwise for the purpose of administration and monitoring the operation of PEVS.

Loss or damage of the Certificate of Eligibility must be reported to the SFAA immediately (tel. no.: 2154 2130) so that the SFAA can void the Certificate of Eligibility.  Invalidated Certificate of Eligibility, even when recovered, would not be redeemable. Eligible applicant may apply for re-issue of the Certificate of Eligibility from the SFAA at cost.

Holder of the Certificate of Eligibility needs not re-apply for PEVS within the validity period as specified in the Certificate.

In order to benefit from PEVS, parents should apply for an assessment of eligibility for PEVS for their children in the first instance. Children assessed to be eligible for PEVS will receive a Certificate of Eligibility for the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme. By presenting the original of the Certificate to the eligible local non-profit-making kindergarten which their children are attending, the kindergarten will be able to redeem the voucher from the EDB and parents will at the same time receive fee subsidy.

Application forms and guidance notes are available at the District Offices, Post Offices, the Regional Education Offices of EDB and SFAA. Application forms and related documents may also be downloaded from the homepage of EDB at http://www.edb.gov.hk or the homepage of SFAA at http://www.sfaa.gov.hk.

Parents may send the duly completed application form together with copies of necessary identity documents by post to the SFAA, TSTPO Box 95161, Kowloon. Alternatively, parents may enclose all relevant documents in an envelope, sealed and labelled “Application for the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (2012/13)” and drop it into the drop-in box at the office of the SFAA on 12/F, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon.

Application for PEVS for the 2012/13 school year is now open. As it takes time to process applications, parents wishing to receive the Certificates of Eligibility for PEVS for their children attending kindergarten before the beginning of the 2012/13 school year are advised to apply on or before 31 May 2012.

I wish to apply for the 2012/13 Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme for my children. May I know if my application will not be accepted after 31 May 2012?

No. SFAA will still accept application beyond this date. However, as it takes time for SFAA to process the applications, parents wishing to receive the Certificate of Eligibility for their eligible children before the beginning of the 2012/13 school year are advised to submit their application form on or before 31 May 2012.

If parents can only submit their applications after 31 May 2012, they may also send the duly completed application form together with copies of necessary identity documents to SFAA for processing. Enquiries about individual applications may be directed to the SFAA’s hotline at 2154 2130.

For parents who have completed the Acknowledgement of Application (SFAA 247) and returned it together with the application form to the SFAA, the SFAA will mail the Acknowledgement of Application to the parents within ten working date from the postal date of the application to confirm receipt of the application.

Upon receipt of the application and all necessary information, the SFAA will generally take six to eight weeks to complete processing of the application. The SFAA will inform parents of the results by post. Each eligible student will receive a Certificate of Eligibility while unsuccessful applicants will be informed of the result by way of a notification letter. Enquiries about individual applications may be directed to the SFAA's hotline at 2154 2130.

Under normal circumstances, the SFAA will issue to each eligible child a Certificate of Eligibility with a suitable validity period that will tie in with the period of study of the child to complete the pre-primary education. Those already issued with a Certificate of Eligibility need NOT re-apply for PEVS within the validity period as specified in the Certificate.

To join PEVS, eligible children must be Hong Kong residents with right of abode, right to land or valid permission to remain without any conditions of stay (other than the limit of stay) in Hong Kong. PEVS is not applicable to children holding visitor visas, two-way exit permits, student visas or who are dependants of visitor-visa or student-visa holders. PEVS is also not applicable to children holding forms of recognizance.

To further elaborate on this, children born in Hong Kong who possess the Hong Kong Birth Certificate with the word ‘Established’ shown in the ‘Status of Permanent Resident’ column or who bear the identity of Hong Kong Permanent Residents are eligible to apply for PEVS, regardless of whether their parents are permanent residents of Hong Kong or not (e.g. residents of the Mainland). In other words, children with established Hong Kong permanent residency status are all eligible to apply for PEVS.

Children holding the Hong Kong Birth Certificates which bear the words ‘Not Established’ in the ‘Status of Permanent Resident’ column are usually those who are permitted to stay in Hong Kong for a limited period of time. Their permitted period of stay normally coincides with the permitted period of stay of their parents. In such circumstances, the parents of the children must be holding valid travel documents with the visa issued by the Immigration Department of the HKSAR Government not falling into the category of student visa or visitor visa for the children to be eligible to apply for PEVS. Enquiries about individual applications may be directed to SFAA's hotline at 2154 2130.

As regards age, to tie in with the minimum age for admission to primary one, children must be aged 2 years and 8 months or above as at 31 August of the year of school admission to be eligible to apply for PEVS. In other words, those attending kindergartens in the 2012/13 school year must be aged 2 years and 8 months or above as at 31 August 2012 (i.e. born on or before 31 December 2009). Those born between 1 January and 31 December 2010 should apply for PEVS in the 2013/14 school year.

Children who are Hong Kong residents with right of abode, right to land, or valid permission to remain without any conditions of stay (other than the limit of stay) in Hong Kong, are eligible to apply for PEVS, regardless of the ethnicity.

What kind of documents should be submitted in applying for PEVS?

Applicant and his/her spouse have to provide copies of their Hong Kong identity cards in applying for PEVS. If this is not available, applicant and/or his/her spouse should provide copies of other valid identity documents e.g. copies of their valid travel documents or identity documents issued by other authorities.

As for the child, if he/she was born in Hong Kong, the applicant should submit a copy of the Hong Kong Birth Certificate of the child. If the word "Established" is shown in the "Status of Permanent Resident" column of the Birth Certificate, the applicant needs not provide other documentary proof.

However, if the "Status of Permanent Resident" is "Not Established", apart from providing a copy of the Hong Kong Birth Certificate of the child (if applicable), the applicant should provide one of the following valid identity documents of the child –

If the identity document of the child belongs to category (6) or (7) above, the applicant, his/her spouse and the child have to produce their own valid travel documents (pages showing the bearer’s particulars, the latest visa label issued by the Immigration Department of HKSAR Government and the latest “Permission to remain” stamp issued by the Immigration Department indicating the latest period of lawful stay of the applicant, his/her spouse and the child) to the SFAA as well. Please note that children holding visitor visas, two-way exit permits or student visas only are not eligible to apply for PEVS.

If the applicant’s family is receiving assistance under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme (CSSA) of the Social Welfare Department (SWD), should the applicant’s children apply for PEVS?

All parents on CSSA with children at the age appropriate for pre-primary education, like other parents with pre-primary children, are required to submit applications to the SFAA for PEVS in order to receive fee subsidy through PEVS, if they have not been issued with the Certificate of Eligibility for PEVS.  In case additional financial assistance on top of the subsidy from the voucher is required, they should approach SWD direct for additional assistance under the CSSA Scheme.  For enquiries on application for PEVS, please call SFAA’s hotline at 2154 2130.  Enquiries about applications for assistance under the CSSA Scheme for pre-primary education may be made to SWD’s hotline at 2343 2255.

If children previously in receipt of CSSA cease to be eligible for the scheme in the middle of a school year, could they apply for PEVS?

CSSA families with children currently attending kindergarten classes should already have been issued with the Certificate of Eligibility for PEVS in the school year and are benefitting from fee subsidy under PEVS. If the family ceases to be eligible for CSSA in the middle of the school year, parents of the children can apply for additional assistance under KCFRS in case the fee subsidy under PEVS is inadequate to cover the entire amount of school fee and the family is financially in need. KCFRS for the 2011/12 school year is now open to application whereas details of application for KCFRS in the 2012/13 school year will be announced by SFAA in around July 2012. For enquiries, please visit SFAA’s homepage at http://www.sfaa.gov.hk or call 2154 2130.

If parents do not send their children to kindergartens after receiving the Certificate of Eligibility for their children, will they receive other form of subsidy like cash?

Children holding valid Certificate of Eligibility will be eligible for fee subsidy only when they attend kindergartens eligible for voucher redemption during the period specified in the Certificate. Their parents will not receive any form of subsidy if their children do not attend kindergartens.

How to redeem voucher by means of the Certificate of Eligibility for PEVS

How can parents get the fee subsidy after receiving the Certificate of Eligibility for PEVS? How is the fee subsidy released to parents?

Upon receipt of the Certificate, parents should produce its original copy to the eligible local non-profit-making kindergarten their children are attending.  Parents will then be eligible for fee deduction at the voucher value under PEVS.  With the Certificate, the kindergarten can redeem voucher from EDB to subsidise parents in paying the school fee.  Parents will not receive any subsidy in cash.

With effect from the 2012/13 school year, the value of the voucher will be adjusted annually with reference to the Composite Consumer Price Index (CCPI). The level of fee subsidy for the 2012/13 school year is $16,800 per student per annum, which is disbursed to kindergartens by instalments to alleviate the financial burden of parents in paying the monthly school fee. If the school fee is higher than the fee subsidy, parents should pay the difference by instalments. The amount of school fee to be collected from parents and the number of instalments for collection are specified on the Fees Certificate, which should be posted conspicuously in the kindergarten. If school fee is lower than the fee subsidy, the parents do not receive the difference.

Should the original of the Certificate of Eligibility be kept by the kindergarten the student enrol and if yes, will the kindergarten return the original to the student concerned upon transfer?

Students holding the Certificates of Eligibility should present their original copies to the kindergarten they enrol so that students are eligible to pay the tuition fee after deduction of fee subsidy from PEVS and kindergartens can redeem the voucher. The Certificate of Eligibility will be kept by the kindergarten the student enrols and kindergartens will issue a receipt to the parents.                  

Upon students' graduation or transfer/termination of studies in the middle of a school year, the kindergartens should return the original copy of the Certificate of Eligibility to the parents.

If a student moves to another eligible kindergarten during the validity period, his/her parent can submit the Certificate of Eligibility to the new school so that the kindergarten can redeem the voucher.

Children Already Holding Certificates of Eligibility

If parents have already been issued with a Certificate of Eligibility with a validity period beyond the 2011/12 school year, do they have to apply again to SFAA for PEVS in the 2012/13 school year?

No. The 2012/13 application for PEVS is applicable to children who do not possess the Certificate of Eligibility and who will start or continue to attend kindergarten in the 2012/13 school year. If parents have already been issued with a Certificate of Eligibility, they do not have to make an application again.

If a student holding a valid Certificate of Eligibility is transferred from one kindergarten to another during the 2012/13 school year, will the student still be eligible for school fee subsidy? Is it necessary to make a fresh application for PEVS? How is the amount of fee subsidy calculated for the two kindergartens?

If a student holding a valid Certificate of Eligibility is transferred during the 2012/13 school year from one kindergarten to another local non-profit-making kindergarten eligible for voucher redemption, the student will still be eligible for fee subsidy under PEVS. His/her parents should ask for return of the Certificate of Eligibility from the previous school upon transfer and produce the original of the Certificate of Eligibility to the new school. Fresh application for PEVS is not required. The amount of subsidy received by the two kindergartens will be calculated on the basis of the period that the student has attended the kindergartens during the school year. Parents should also be aware of the school fee of the new kindergarten, particularly the school fee after deduction of the fee subsidy under PEVS.

If a student holding a valid Certificate of Eligibility is transferred during the 2012/13 school year to another kindergarten which has withdrawn from PEVS in the 2012/13 school year, will the student still be eligible for fee subsidy under PEVS?

No. All newly enrolled students or students changing kindergartens in the 2012/13 school year can receive fee subsidy only when they are attending eligible local non-profit-making kindergartens. Students moving to a kindergarten, not joining PEVS in the 2012/13 school year can neither receive fee subsidy under PEVS nor apply for KCFRS in the new school year.

If children holding the Certificate of Eligibility repeat their study in the same level, and require more than 3 years’ time to complete the kindergarten programme, will the validity period of the Certificate of Eligibility be extended?

The maximum validity period of the Certificate of Eligibility is three years and redemption can only be made before the expiry of the validity period. Application for extension of validity of the Certificate of Eligibility will only be considered under very special circumstances of individual children with proven special educational needs. In the event of such application, the applicant must provide strong and solid proof, for example, an assessment report issued by registered medical practitioner or professional, confirming special educational difficulties of the child that warrant the need for the child to pursue pre-primary education for a period longer than the normal three years.

Will the students in receipt of fee subsidy under PEVS in the 2011/12 school year continue to receive fee subsidy under PEVS in the 2012/13 school year if the kindergarten they are currently enrolling in withdraws from PEVS in the 2012/13 school year?

Yes. Though the kindergarten will withdraw from PEVS in the 2012/13 school year, existing students already in receipt of fee subsidy under PEVS in that kindergarten will not be affected. In other words, existing students holding valid Certificates of Eligibility can still receive fee subsidy under PEVS until they leave the kindergarten.

Children Applying for PEVS for the First Time

As long as the child can meet the eligibility criteria to apply for PEVS, he/she will be issued with a Certificate of Eligibility for PEVS. However, any newly enrolled student or student changing kindergartens in the 2012/13 school year can receive fee subsidy only when they are attending eligible local non-profit-making kindergartens. In other words, the child cannot enjoy fee subsidy under PEVS when attending a private independent kindergarten. In addition, students attending a kindergarten, other than a local non-profit-making kindergarten which is eligible for voucher redemption, in the 2012/13 school year can neither apply for KCFRS in the new school.

If a child is applying for the Certificate of Eligibility for the first time and he/she will start to attend nursery class (i.e. K1)_in kindergarten in the 2012/13 school year, what will be the validity period of his/her Certificate of Eligibility for PEVS?

As long as the child can meet all eligibility criteria to apply for PEVS, and he/she will start to attend nursery class in 2012/13, he/she will be issued with a Certificate of Eligibility for PEVS with validity period of three years from the 2012/13 school year to the 2014/15 school year.

If the parent intends to arrange his/her child to attend a kindergarten eligible for voucher redemption in early 2012, should he/she apply for PEVS for the 2012/13 school year?

PEVS for the 2012/13 school year will only provide fee subsidy to eligible children with effect from the 2012/13 school year. Children who are admitted to kindergarten in the 2011/12 school year (e.g. in early 2012) and who wish to benefit from PEVS immediately should apply for PEVS for the 2011/12 school year. Please note that children-applicant must be born on or before 31 December 2008 to be eligible to apply for PEVS for 2011/12. Parents can obtain the application form for PEVS for 2011/12 from SFAA, but they must specify the school year they are applying for.
Note: The validity period of the Certificate of Eligibility issued after the start of, but within, the 2011/12 school year will span maximally a period from a specified start-off month in the 2011/12 school year through to the end of the 2013/14 school year. The validity period will not be extended although the Certificate of Eligibility is issued in the middle of the school year. In addition, if a parent plans to send his/her child to study nursery class in an eligible local non-profit-making kindergarten in July or August 2012, and wishes to apply for PEVS to receive fee subsidy under PEVS, the parent must ascertain from the kindergarten the term time of the 2011/12 and 2012/13 school years so as to decide which school year of PEVS he/she should apply for his/her child.

Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme

Upon implementation of PEVS, low-income families with children attending nursery, lower or upper classes in kindergarten will receive assistance consisting of two parts to meet the cost of tuition fees, namely, one part is the non-means-tested fee subsidy from PEVS and the other part is the means-tested fee remission from KCFRS. If fee subsidy from PEVS is inadequate to cover entirely the actual tuition fees charged by the kindergarten, parents may apply for additional assistance from KCFRS. Starting from the 2011/12 school year, the amount of fee remission under KCFRS will be calculated by first deducting the voucher subsidy. The SFAA will compute the fee remission for the applicants in accordance with the level of assistance assessed using the AFI formula. The actual fee remission will be 50%, 75% or 100% of the difference between the actual fee charged by the kindergarten or the fee remission ceiling, whichever is the less, and the voucher value dedicated towards fee subsidy. Detailed calculation is as follows:

Fee subsidy from PEVS is $16,000 per student per annum for the 2011/12 school year (and $16,800 per student per annum for the 2012/13 school year) while fee remission ceilings for KCFRS for children attending nursery, lower or upper classes in the 2011/12 school year are: 
Half-day class : $19,500 per student per annum (pspa) 　 　
Whole-day class : $31,500 pspa
Maximum meal allowance : $420 per student per month

How should an applicant eligible for fee subsidy under the 2012/13 PEVS lodge an application for additional financial assistance under the KCFRS?

The applicant should pay attention to details of application for the KCFRS in the 2012/13 school year to be announced by SFAA in due course. The announcement will be made in around July 2012. For enquiries, please visit the SFAA’s homepage at http://www.sfaa.gov.hk or call 2154 2130.