Hong Kong's financial chief John Tsang proposed allocating HK$100 million (US$12.8 million) to launch a five-year pilot program to subsidize local tertiary students participating in short-term internship or learning programs on the mainland.
In his budget speech yesterday, Tsang said he encouraged young people in Hong Kong to see for themselves and learn more about mainland through visits, exchanges or voluntary service.
Participants would be able to learn about the prevailing social, economic and cultural landscapes of the mainland through these programs. Each student could receive a subsidy of up to HK$3,000. It was estimated that more than 30,000 students would benefit from the program, he said.
Tsang also proposed supporting students from low-income families in Hong Kong, saying he was particularly concerned about the educational needs of students from low-income families.
Hong Kong s existing student financial assistance programs offered financial support to eligible pre-primary, primary, secondary and post-secondary students. The annual recurrent expenditure involved exceeded HK$3.1 billion, benefiting as many as 360,000 students, or around 34 percent of the total number of students in the city, Tsang said.
