HKIER

Abstract

Higher education is very expensive in terms of both the running cost of the higher education institute and the private cost of students. The private cost of students is represented by the earning forgone, tuition fees, cost of boarding and living expenses.

In most countries, financial aid is given to the students in higher education. This is a transfer payment that the private cost is reduced by increasing the public cost. There are various forms of financial aids, e.g. grant, loan, tax relief to the parent. There are, however, hot debates in the world-wide on the method and procedures of giving these financial aids. Part I of this paper discusses some of the arguments involved in these debates. The experiences in some countries is used as examples to illustrate the arguments. In Part II, the financial aid system in Hong Kong is reviewed. And the present writers try to examine the equity and efficiency of the Hong Kong student finance scheme over time according to the following points: (1) the income distribution of students; (2) the parental contribution in tertiary education; (3) the apportionment of public fund to grant and loan; (4) total amount of loan and interest subsidized to university education; (5) the running costs of the means-test scheme. Lastly, results of the analysis and discussion on the above results will be presented in Part III.

摘要

高等教育是十分昂貴的。它包括由高等學府運作的成本及學生的私人成本，而學生的私人成本計有過往的薪酬、學費、住宿費和生活費等。大部份的國家都會對高等教育的學生提供經濟資助，這可視為費用的轉移──增加公帑以減低私人成本。資助的形式有多種，如助學金、貸款、父母減免稅額等。現時世界各地均熱烈地討論所牽涉的爭論，並引用一些國家之經驗作為不同論點的例子。本文第一部份是討論引起爭論的論據。第二部份則回顧香港學生的經濟資助計劃，並嘗試根據下列五項去檢視這個資助計劃在過往一段時間的公平和效率問題：（1）學生家庭的收入分佈，（2）高等教育中家長的承擔，（3）公費中助學金和貸款的分配比例，（4）在大學教育的貸款總額及所津貼的利息，（5）審查學生家庭收入計劃的行政費用。最後，本文對上述的結果進行分析及討論。