Q1.
Are students receiving means-tested grants from the SFO or whose families are in receipt of the CSSA eligible for assistance under the N-SSEBR?
Students who receive means-tested grants from the SFO or whose families are in receipt of the CSSA are eligible for assistance under the N-SSEBR once at the same level of study. If the student has previously received subsidy under the M-SSEBR at the same level of study, he/she can still receive subsidy under the N-SSEBR provided that the objectives and eligibility criteria of the N-SSEBR are effectively fulfilled and met.
Q2.
Are students Who have previously received assistance from the N-SSEBR eligible for assistance under the M-SSEBR?
Students who have previously received assistance under the N-SSEBR are eligible to receive subsidy under the M-SSEBR once during their study in programme(s) at the same level of study in Hong Kong.
Q3.
Are students who have previously received subsidy under the original M-SSE before September 2019 eligible for assistance under the enhanced M-SSE at the same level of study?
No. Students who have received subsidy offered under the original M-SSE once at the same level of study before September 2019 are not eligible for assistance under the enhanced M-SSE effective from 2019/20 academic year.
Q4.
Can postgraduate students benefit from the enhanced M-SSE, M-SSEBR, N-MES or N-SSEBR?
No. All these four Subsidy Schemes are only open to students enrolling in full-time locally-accredited sub-degree or undergraduate programmes of the participating institutions. Postgraduate students are not eligible.
Q5.
While students eligible for assistance under the M-SSE or the M-SSEBR should be in receipt of Means-tested student finacial assistance from the SFO or Whose families are in receipt of the CSSA, do the students have to be recipients of the relevant assistance during the full course of the same academic year in which the outbound exchange activity is held?
Not necessarily. If a student is a recipient of financial assistance under the FASP at the time he/she applies or is nominated for an outbound exchange activity, he/she is eligible for assistance under the M-SSE and the M-SSEBR.
For students who have not received and are not applying for financial assistance under the FASP at the time they apply or are nominated for an outbound exchange activity, they are not eligible for assistance under the M-SSE or the M-SSEBR. In case where students have not received financial assistance under the FASP before but are applying for such financial assistance at the time they apply or are nominated for an outbound exchange activity under the M-SSE or the M-SSEBR, participating institutions may exercise their discretion on whether to enroll the concerned students in the exchange activity. However, if the FASP applications of the students fail, the cost of the exchange activity cannot be covered by the M-SSE or the M-SSEBR. It will have to be borne by the institutions/students/other funding sources.
Under normal circumstances, application results of the FASP will be released at the commencement of an academic year (around August/September) for continuing students in an institution and at the end of the Autumn Term of an academic year (around December/January) for new students of an institution.
Q6.
Are students who have previously received subsidty under the original SSEBR eligible for assistance under the N-MES and /or the N-SSEBR/the M-SSEBR at the same level of study?
Q7.
Are students who have previously received subsidy offered under the original SSEBR twice, in which one of the exchange destinations is the Mainland, still be eligible for assistance under the N-MES at the same level of study?
Yes. Students who have received subsidy under the original SSEBR to participate in exchange activities in the Mainland can still apply for the N-MES.
Q1.
What are the eligible exchange activities under the M-SSE, M-SSEBR, N-MES and N-SSEBR?
Eligible exchange activities should comprise substantive teaching and learning elements. Internship and volunteer work will not be considered as eligible exchange activities in general unless they fulfill the requirement of comprising substantive teaching and learning elements and meet the objectives of the Scheme(s).
Q2
While exchange activities taking place in the Mainland, Taiwan and Macao will not be regarded as eligible exchange activities under the M-SSEBR and the N-SSEBR, can they be subsidised under the M-SSE or N-MES?
Yes.
Q1.
Are students receiving low level of student finance (in terms of small percentage of full grant, i.e. 1-5%) approved by the SFO eligible to receive the maximum amount of subsidy offered under the M-SSE or the M-SSEBR by adding up the subsidy amount for different destination and duration, then discounted by the adjusted financial assistance level of 50%?
Yes.
Q2.
While students whose families are in receipt of the CSSA are eligible for assistance under the M-SSE or the M-SSEBR, what level of financial assistance should be considered in calculating the amount of means-tested subsidy to be granted to the students?
For students who claim to be family members of CSSA recipients, institutions participating in the M-SSE and the M-SSEBR should obtain the consent from the concerned CSSA recipients and forward the consent forms to the EDB for verification of their CSSA status with the Social Welfare Department. Subject to verification, the concerned students can be regarded as receiving 100% financial assistance. Nevertheless, the amount of subsidy granted to eligible students should not exceed the direct costs arising from their participation in the concerned exchange activity.
Q3.
Does participating institution have any discretion to adjust the subsidy amount to be granted to an eligible student under the enhanced M-SSE, M-SSEBR, N-MES and N-SSEBR?
Yes. Individual participating institutions may, at their full discretion, adjust the actual amount of subsidy to be granted to the student having regard to the actual travelling expenses and participation fees involved in the exchange activities, other subsidy/sponsorship received by the students, etc. In principle, the amount of subsidy granted to an eligible student under these four Schemes should not exceed the direct costs arising from his/her participation in the concerned exchange activity.
Q4.
While exchange activities taking place in different destinations will be subject to different amounts of subsidy, if an exchange activity has multiple destinations spanning across "Belt and Road" and non-Belt and Road regions, how should the subsidy amount be calculated?
For an exchange activity taking place in multiple destinations, only parts of the exchange activity taking place in "Belt and Road" regions will be eligible for the M-SSEBR and/or the N-SSEBR. Duration of the exchange activity should only include days of which the parts of the exchange activity are held in "Belt and Road" regions. In principle, the amount of subsidy granted to an eligible student under the M-SSEBR and the N-SSEBR shall not exceed the direct costs arising from his/her participation in the concerned exchange activity.
List of Abbreviations | |
|---|---|
CSSA | Comprehensive Social Security Assistance |
EDB | Education Bureau |
FASP | Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students |
M-SSE | Scheme for Subsidy on Exchange for Post-secondary Students |
M-SSEBR | Scheme for Means-tested Subsidy on Exchange to “Belt and Road” Regions for Post-secondary Students |
N-MES | Non-means-tested Mainland Experience Scheme for Post-secondary Students |
N-SSEBR | Scheme for Non-means-tested Subsidy on Exchange to “Belt and Road” Regions for Post-secondary Students |
SFO | Student Finance Office, Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency |
