CE explains how he aims to save MOP1b in education next year

Replying to the questions of the lawmakers at the Legislative Assembly (AL), the Chief Executive (CE), Ho Iat Seng, hinted at how the government was planning to save 1 billion patacas from the education sector in the 2021 budget.
Ho hinted that a paradigm shift in the government’s expenditure in the sector would be implemented, contributing to the savings. Universities in Macau would need to adjust student tuition fees to ease the burden of the subsidies injected into the tertiary education sector by the government.
“We need to adjust the tuition fees and we also need to adjust the percentage of students from the mainland [that are studying in local higher education institutions],” Ho said, adding, “In the mainland, the tuition fees even for kindergartens are more expensive than the ones charged by our universities.”
This idea builds on comments aired last April during the Policy Address for 2020, when Ho announced at the AL that local universities would need to turn into a new industry that contributes to the gross domestic product (GDP) of Macau.
Still, Ho clearly stated that the government will ensure that the interests of local students will not be affected while allowing more students from abroad.
The information that the government was aiming to save as much as 1 billion patacas on education was one of the topics recently addressed at the First Standing Committee of the AL while they analyzed the budget bill for the next year.
According to the committee chairman, lawmaker Ho Ion Sang, the government lacked explanations on the topic. This led the committee to make inquiries with them, seeking to clarify. RM