EDB Opens Applications for Fourth Cohort of School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme for Talented Students

Fourth cohort of School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme opens for applications in October

The Education Bureau (EDB) today (October 25) announced that the fourth cohort of the School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme (SNDAS) will be open for applications by local Secondary Six students who will be taking the 2025 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination and commencing their undergraduate studies in September 2025.

A spokesman for the EDB said, "Launched in the 2022/23 academic year, the SNDAS is a scheme that recognises the exceptional talents of students in specific disciplines that may not be fully assessed by the HKDSE Examination by allowing students with special and diversified talents to be matched with programmes that suit their potential. It provides opportunities for these students to be considered for direct admission to local universities."

The nomination period of the fourth cohort of the SNDAS will run from October 25 to December 4, 2024. Students who intend to apply for their preferred programmes through the SNDAS must be nominated by their secondary schools. Each local secondary school can nominate two students with exceptional talents and interests in specific disciplines/areas, and each student nominee can apply for admission to one designated University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded undergraduate programme participating in the SNDAS.

Participating universities will arrange interviews for all students nominated for the SNDAS and make firm offers to successful students prior to the release of the 2025 HKDSE Examination results.

The eight UGC-funded universities have designated around 300 publicly funded undergraduate programmes to participate in the fourth cohort of the SNDAS and set admission criteria that are not based on HKDSE Examination results for individual programmes. Details of the SNDAS and specific admission requirements of the participating programmes have been uploaded to the scheme's website (www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/postsecondary/policy-doc/SNDAS/index.html).

The EDB adds that the SNDAS was introduced to provide an additional pathway to university for students with exceptional talents. Those nominated for the SNDAS, like other Secondary Six students, are required to apply for admission to universities through the Joint University Programmes Admissions System in parallel and to sit for the HKDSE Examinations, ensuring they do not limit their opportunities for further studies.

Starting from this 2025/26 academic year, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau will introduce a new scholarship scheme for successful SNDAS admittees with remarkable achievements in arts, sports and/or community service. Among the students formally admitted to their respective universities under the SNDAS, each of the eight UGC-funded universities will be invited to nominate SNDAS admittees demonstrating outstanding performance in arts, sports and/or community service for the award of scholarships, in addition to the firm offers made. The quotas for nominations and scholarships will be distributed proportionally, taking into account the number of students admitted to each university through the SNDAS. Each awardee, who will not be subject to means testing, will be granted a scholarship of $10,000 per year throughout their four-year tuition period.

The EDB set up the Task Force on Review of School Curriculum in November 2017 to holistically review the primary and secondary curricula. The review report submitted by the Task Force to the EDB in September 2020 put forward six directional recommendations, including the implementation of a new direct admission scheme to enhance flexibility in university admissions. The EDB accepted the recommendation and introduced the SNDAS starting with the 2022/23 academic year.

ECC to launch Carbon Reduction Action on November 1

The following is issued on behalf of the Environmental Campaign Committee:

The Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC) will officially launch the Carbon Reduction Action next Friday (November 1) to encourage members of the public to change their habits and reduce their carbon footprint by practising low-carbon living in terms of clothing, food, living and travel, with an aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Funded by the Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF), the Carbon Reduction Action is organised by the Environment and Ecology Bureau and the ECC, and will be rolled out with support from about 150 strategic and collaboration partners, including public and business organisations, industry groups, non-profit organisations and school sponsoring bodies. Since August of this year, the ECC has been sharing low-carbon living tips related to clothing, food, living and travel through posts and mini-games on the its social media platforms. The upcoming Carbon Reduction Action will further motivate the public to implement what they have learned about carbon reduction in their daily lives. From November 1 until 30, members of the public can enter a lucky draw by sharing their carbon reduction actions regarding clothing, food, living and travel on their personal social media platforms and uploading screenshots to the campaign website with their GREEN$ ID number. Each lucky draw winners will receive two tickets to the "Zero-carbon Concert", which will be held on January 4, 2025. For more information and terms and conditions of the lucky draw, please visit the campaign website of the Carbon Reduction Action (www.ecc.org.hk/en/publicity/cra.html).

Following the Carbon Neutrality Publicity Campaign launched by the ECC in 2022, the ECC has recently conducted a survey with 1 000 members of the public regarding their understanding of carbon neutrality and their willingness to practise low-carbon living. The survey results showed that over 94 per cent of respondents were aware of carbon neutrality to varying extents, and 96 per cent indicated their willingness to practise low-carbon living in the future. To further encourage the public to turn their intentions into actions, the ECC is launching the Carbon Reduction Action to encourage the public to practise low-carbon living, reduce carbon emissions, and work together to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.