Govt to increase UGC-funded university fees by 5.5pc for three consecutive years

Students in UGC-funded full-time undergraduate, taught postgraduate and research postgraduate programs will see their tuition fees increase to HK$44,500 in the 2025-26 academic year and will have to pay up to HK$49,000 in the 2027-28 academic year. 

This came after the government announced on Thursday the tuition fees for courses at universities funded by the University Grants Committee for the 2025-26 to 2027-28 academic years.

The government has decided that the tuition fees for UGC-funded courses will be adjusted at a moderate rate of 5.5 percent per year on average for three academic years from 2025-26 to 2027-28.

The tuition fee adjustment is only applicable to students in UGC-funded places who meet the relevant funding qualifications. 

Tuition fees for the 2024-25 academic year will remain unchanged to allow the society more time to adapt and prepare. 

A government spokesman said the tuition fee adjustment was very modest, and the government has also continued to allocate additional resources to expand capacity and improve quality, with a recurring allocation of nearly HK$24 billion for the next school year. 

In addition, in conjunction with this tuition adjustment, the amount of tuition grants and tuition loans provided under the two subsidy programs will also be adjusted accordingly, starting from the 2025-26 academic year. 

The government added that they were also aware that various UGC-funded universities provide other financial support, such as scholarships, bursaries and loans, to needy students to ensure that they will not be prevented from access to higher education due to financial difficulties. 

Also read: Eric Chan and lawmakers defend ‘modest’ university fee adjustments