Prisoners' Education Trust Fund

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Background

The pursuit of academic qualifications is conducive to the successful rehabilitation of offenders. In this regard, the Correctional Services Department closely liaises with external educational bodies to facilitate prisoners to sit for external examinations and to attend external courses organised or run by recognised examination/academic bodies. To support and assist motivated prisoners, who however are in need of financial resources to pay for the required fees, the Prisoners' Education Trust Fund was established under the Prisoners' Education Trust Fund Ordinance (Chapter 467, Laws of Hong Kong) in December 1995.

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Objects of the Fund

The purpose of the Fund is to provide financial assistance to individual prisoners, on application, in their effort to obtain education and to provide educational facilitates for prisoners. The provision of such assistance is in the form of:

(a)	grants to sit for external examinations;
(b)	grants to cover external course fees; or
(c)	grants to procure textbooks, study aids or educational resources.

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Administration of the Fund

In accordance with Section 6 of the Ordinance, the "Prisoners' Education Trust Fund Committee" was established for the purpose of directing the Trustee (i.e. the Commissioner of Correctional Services) with regard to the objects of the Fund and with regard to the investment of fund moneys. The Committee consists of a chairman and a member, who shall not be public officers, appointed by the Secretary for Security, the Commissioner of Correctional Services or his representative as ex officio member and the officers in charge of the Rehabilitation Unit (Programme) and the Education Unit of the Department.

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Financial Assistance

Invitation exercises are conducted three times a year. Applications from prisoners are made to the Department for processing and the Committee meets to vet each and every application. Since the establishment of the Fund, many prisoners were granted financial assistance for the payment of external examination/course fees and the purchasing of reference books. External examinations include the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination, the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination, the LCCI International Qualifications, the City & Guilds Examinations, General Certificate of Eduction Examinations (London Examinations), Hong Kong Institute of Accredited Accounting Technicians Examinations, etc. External courses include those run by the School of Continuing Professional Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Management Association and the Open University of Hong Kong.

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Donation and Enquiry

The Trust welcomes donations from members of the public. For enquiry, please contact the Secretary of the Fund, whose telephone number and address are as follows:

Name	:	Ms. SIU Pui-fan
Telephone No	:	2834 0706
Address	:	4/F, Oi Kwan Court, 28 Oi Kwan Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.
E-mail Address	:	siu_pf@csd.gov.hk

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Overview


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