The Government announced today (March 27) that the scope of the Study Subsidy Scheme for Designated Professions/Sectors (SSSDP) will be expanded to include sub-degree programmes. A total of 2 050 places in 28 sub-degree programmes in six post-secondary institutions will be subsidised for the cohort to be admitted in the 2019/20 academic year.
These 28 designated sub-degree programmes fall under six disciplines that have been identified as having keen manpower demand, namely architecture and engineering, computer science, creative industries, health care, sports and recreation, and tourism and hospitality.
The sub-degree programmes and number of subsidised places under the SSSDP were determined by the Education Bureau in consultation with relevant policy bureaux and departments. Details of the participating institutions, the programmes and the number of subsidised places are listed at the Annex.
In the 2019/20 academic year, the annual subsidy amount for laboratory-based sub-degree programmes will be $36,400 while that for non-laboratory based sub-degree programmes will be $20,850. The subsidy amounts are applicable to both new and current students meeting the criteria. The subsidy is tenable for the normal duration of the programmes concerned. Eligible students will pay a tuition fee after netting off the subsidy amount. Students in need may still apply for student financial assistance from the Student Finance Office of the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency in respect of the actual amount of tuition fee payable. Students can apply for admission to the designated sub-degree programmes under the SSSDP directly through the institutions concerned.
The SSSDP was launched in the 2015/16 academic year to subsidise students to pursue designated full-time locally accredited self-financing undergraduate programmes in selected disciplines with a view to nurturing talent for industries with keen human resource demand. After three cohorts in the pilot run, the SSSDP has been regularised since the 2018/19 academic year to provide 3 000 subsidised undergraduate places per cohort. Having accepted the recommendation by the Task Force on Review of Self-financing Post-secondary Education, the Chief Executive announced in the 2018 Policy Address that the Government will expand the coverage of the SSSDP starting from the 2019/20 academic year to benefit about 2 000 students per cohort enrolling in selected sub-degree programmes.
For details of the SSSDP, please visit www.cspe.edu.hk/SSSDP.
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