The Macau Foundation headquarters
The Macau Foundation (FM) revealed that five recipients in a scholarship program have to repay up to MOP3.18 million in total after failing to meet their obligation of returning to Macau. The Times has learnt, however, that the number of recipients who did not uphold their end of the bargain might number more than the five cases the FM has identified.
The Special Scholarship program was established in 2006, as a collaborative project between the FM and the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ). It is offered to Macau residents who are pursuing their first bachelor degree in prestigious universities designated by the FM all over the world. Recipients will be given a lump sum each year, depending on the continent within which their university is located. For example, the annual lump sum in 2014 for students studying at America, Europe and Oceania is MOP300,000.
The recipients have to maintain an all-pass record during their studies and to remain in the course and university they declared to the FM. Moreover, the authorities required the beneficiaries to start working or serving in Macau or mainland China for the duration no shorter than the period they receive the scholarship, starting no later than six months after they finished their degree. They also have to submit relevant documents to prove their employment status. So far, the program has supported 276 students, involving funding in the amount of MOP140 million.
In an e-mail replying to the Times, FM stated that until 2014, there were five Special Scholarship beneficiaries who had not returned to Macau or mainland China. The foundation thus has to retrieve more than MOP3 million from these individuals. It claimed that if the recipients refused to repay the scholarship, FM will hand the case over to the Coercive Collection Bureau of the Financial Services Bureau.
Meanwhile, the Times has spoken with a Special Scholarship recipient who asked to remain anonymous. While the FM has permitted them to defer their return to Macau for personal reasons, our source, who finished their first degree in the North American region, claimed that several of their friends and fellow scholarship beneficiaries have made no attempt to return to the MSAR. “They have already been hired by big corporate companies. Therefore, they felt that it is worth risking [paying back the scholarship] if the FM really chooses to chase after them,” our source claimed. They added that their friends have yet to receive any notice or warning from the FM.
The Special Scholarship program is one of several scholarship and subsidy programs established by the FM or the DSEJ that requires the recipients to be admitted by designated universities or to study specific courses. DSEJ is currently managing an Exceptional Financial Assistance program and a Special Financial Assistance program provided by the bureau’s Student Welfare Fund. These two schemes provide financial support to students who undertake particular higher education programs. They also require the recipients to return to Macau and serve for at least three years following their studies.
DSEJ revealed to the Times via e-mail that, in the previous five years, there was only one recipient of the two programs who decided not to return to Macau. That individual has to repay MOP27,000 to the program.
Hundreds default DSEJ student loan
Up until the end of October this year, 268 individuals who received the student loan from DSEJ have failed to make their payment. The amount involved totalled at more than MOP14 million. DSEJ has said that student loan recipients have to make monthly payments to the bureau seven months after they stop receiving the loan. According to DSEJ, in the year 2012/2013, 6,010 individuals have been granted student loans, involving up to MOP1.9 billion.
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