New scholarship for outstanding mainland students

The University Grants Committee (UGC) announced today (19 December, Tuesday) that the UGC received through the Government a generous donation of $20m from the K K Ho International Charitable Foundation to launch the Rosita and KK Ho Scholarship for Outstanding Mainland Students in the 2001/2002 academic year. Under the scheme, the UGC will offer scholarships to 50 outstanding Mainland students to pursue undergraduate studies in the UGC-funded institutions starting from the 2001/2002 academic year.

The scholarship will cover tuition fees, academic expenses and living costs for a three-year undergraduate programme, as well as a year of pre-university training programme to cover English, Cantonese, information technology, and induction to living in Hong Kong etc.

The Rosita and K K Ho Scholarship follows the successful example of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarship Scheme for Outstanding Mainland Students. As experience has shown, such scholarships bring a new dimension to higher education in Hong Kong." said Dr Alice Lam, the Chairman of the UGC.

Under existing policy, the institutions are allowed to enrol non-local students up to 4% of their approved student numbers. Mainland students fall within this category. They inject an element of healthy competition in our campus, improve the exposure of local students, and help them to establish useful networks.

We definitely need more new sources for such sponsorships to spread and sustain the benefits of these schemes. I hope that more benevolent individuals or corporations will come forth and give us support like the K K Ho International Charitable Foundation."

Tuesday, December 19, 2000