Local Student Finance Scheme

Full-time students studying eligible courses in all UGC-funded institutions,
the two technical colleges of the VTC and the Prince Philip Dental
Hospital may apply for assistance under the means-tested Local Student
Finance Scheme which provides loans to meet living expenses and grants
to cover tuition fees, academic expenses and student union fees. In the
1996-97 academic year, $968 million in grants and $945 million in loans
(including $65 million in extended loans) were provided to 37 502 needy
students.

To review the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of the Local Student
Finance Scheme, the Student Financial Assistance Agency commissioned
a consultancy study on the scheme which completed in May 1996. The
Joint Committee on Student Finance studied the consultants' proposals
and recommended a package for improving the efficiency, fairness,
transparency and integrity of the scheme, including the introduction of a
non-means tested loan scheme to be implemented in the 1998-99
academic year.

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