Continuing Education Fund (CEF)

• Decide the field and objectives of the applicants’ studies before setting out to do so. At present, there are numerous courses from different fields offered by various course providers in different sizes, some of which purport to be qualified for awarding professional credentials and / or recommending students for sitting internationally accredited examinations. Some training bodies may also claim to be able to recommend students with satisfactory results in their studies to some other organizations for employment. Dazzled by the exaggerated propaganda, many people may somehow sign up and pay for some courses they are not familiar with or interested in. It will be however time-consuming and money-wasting for them to withdraw from their studies shortly after the commencement of the course.

• Deliberate about the applicants’ academic level, financial situation and time allocation in order to select a suitable course. Applicants are advised not to overestimate their capability. For example, they need to estimate their academic level so as to avoid selecting a course which is too difficult or too easy for them. This will waste both their precious time and money. Concerning the financial matters, although the government provides students with financial assistance / loan, there is limitation on the eligibility for the application, to which applicants have to pay attention. Students eligible for the student financial assistance / loan application should still note the terms and conditions of submitting application.

  In addition, to sign up for a course costing a high tuition fee may tremendously increase applicants’ financial pressure in the future. From our experience, many applicants have not deliberated about their repayment ability before their application, which made some of them run into serious financial difficulties. It is prudent for applicants to carefully estimate their capability and make their financial plan before their application for admission. Please be reminded about the importance of deliberating before action.

• Learners should consider their own situations and needs when selecting courses and check the validity of the registration of CEF courses and other details through the "Course Search Engine" before enrolment.

  Gather course information from various channels, such as advertisements, friends and promotional leaflets. Compare courses with similar content run by various training bodies and screen out the unsuitable ones. The course providers may emphasize the best and most fascinating features of their courses to their customers and play down the worst. When making a decision to sign up and pay for a course, applicants have to avert solely relying on any single source of information. Applicants should bear in mind the possible discrepancies between the promises of the course providers and the reality. Some course providers, touting for business, may claim that their students are eligible to apply for the Continuing Education Fund (CEF) run by the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency. In applicants’ best interests, they have to clarify whether or not a course is included in the Reimbursable Course List of CEF.

• To better protect applicants’ interest, they have to be cautious and skeptical when comparing the promotional advertisements of different training bodies. To verify if the promotional information is authentic and genuine, applicants should never hesitate to make enquiries particularly about the course content, the total amount of tuition fees, the number of instalments for the tuition fee payment, the conducting agency, the course duration, the number of course sessions, the mode of delivery, the medium of instruction and etc. The course specifications of all the reimbursable courses under CEF can be found in this website. Applicants should verify the promotional information of the course provider with those in this website and clarify with the course provider or the Office of CEF (24-hour hotline: 3142 2277 (handled by the “1823”)) when discrepancy is found.

  Meanwhile, if there is any discrepancy between the promotional information and the staff members' verbal explanation, applicants may request the course provider to alter the contractual terms and affix a seal thereto. Remember not to be misled by propaganda or any verbal promise.

• After enquiring and screening out the unsuitable courses, applicants will be able to list the suitable ones for their site observation. Paying a visit to the course providers, applicants have to scrutinize their registration documents, note the classroom environment and, if approved, observe the lecture delivery. Besides, when applicants enquire about the course details during their visit, a pleasant and amiable staff member usually gives them a detailed explanation, striving to persuade them to put down a deposit on the course. As a staff member of the course providers, he or she is of good knowledge about the institutions. However, his or her explanations may inevitably contain errors or omit some essential information. Staff members of a few course providers may earn their commissions on every course they successfully sell, thus tending to exaggerate the merits of the course and downplay its demerits. Therefore, please bear in mind that site observation is just for the sake of authenticating information collected and having a further understanding of the relevant training bodies.

• Unlike insurance companies, training bodies do not provide customers with a cooling-off period. Once part or all of the tuition fee is paid, it will be difficult to request a refund regardless of the payment method. Hence, the applicants, though satisfied with the course provider after site observation, should avoid any immediate payment of the tuition fee (including any deposit). Applicants should allow cooling-off period of two to three days to consider their options. After making the decision, the applicants should still ward off a one-off payment of the tuition fee. Before assessing applicants’ need, they should not hastily agree to sign any contract consisting terms whereof stipulate their obligation to pay the instalments regularly with the course provider. In the event of their refusal to do so out of their dissatisfaction with the quality of the course, the course provider may look on it as a breach of the contract and, in turn, file a lawsuit against them. As a matter of fact, applicants may request a short-term studying trial wherein their payment is on a monthly basis in order that they can make sure of the suitability of the course before deciding to take the whole course.

• All CEF course providers are required to collect the tuition fees of Reimbursable Courses under CEF on an equal monthly instalments basis except those which have been granted exemption by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare. After paying the tuition fee, applicants have to request the issue of a receipt from the course provider. The receipt should indicate the name of the course provider, the course of studies and the monies paid. They may also attach all the promotional leaflets to the receipt in order to facilitate their future evaluation of the quality of the course. For their benefit, applicants should be so circumspect as to keep all of the receipts.

• In the whole process of selecting applicants’ course provider and course, they had better do everything in a self-reliant manner since it is inappropriate for other people to make any decision on their behalf. For instance, applicants’ proxies may misunderstand their expectation and may not be able to consider their situation. Applicants should personally take care of procedures involving money, such as the payment of the tuition fee and the application for the student financial assistance / loan, instead of authorizing a stranger to do so.

The Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency earnestly hope that the applicants can select a suitable course with the assistance of the aforementioned tips and realise their aspirations through continuous education.