Some tertiary students said getting government grants and loans is like winning the lottery. Are you one of the lucky winners now? But wait! Don’t be so happy, because you have to remember a very important economic principle: There is no such thing as a free lunch in the world, including education.

In early January, the government proposed an all-round change regarding the Local Student Finance Scheme, which is currently helping more than 60 percent of all applicants. The proposed scheme, based on the principle of “the user pays”, will reduce the amount of grants to a large extent so that only 18-50 percent of the applicants can be granted a subsidy. Meanwhile, the government argues that the scheme is beneficial to more students because all students, instead of being checked and investigated beforehand, will be eligible for getting loans.

However, there is another salient change in the new scheme: The interest rate of government loans is going to be adjusted according to the inflation rate and the market interest rate. In short, the government is shirking its responsibility to provide citizens with a decent way of life.

Certainly, we never complain about paying for the government facilities and taxes. In fact, in a free market, the principle of “user pays” is the fairest and most efficient means for resource allocation. Yet, education is not merely a commercialized product which is for sale. Are we going back to the Middle Ages in which only nobles and the elite classes were educated? No! The government should recognize the importance of a well-established education policy. Education, in fact, is a way for all people in a society to realize their potential. In the long run, more resources for a general tertiary education means more talent. With the increasing demand in expertise and technological advancements, more talent would only speed up the economic development of Hong Kong. In other words, putting money on tertiary education should be treated as a long-term investment, rather than a social welfare programme.

For helping more students, as what the government claimed, the new proposal does not provide really good suggestions. In contrast, this is similar to the soaring tuition fee, which aims at exploiting the poor students. As one of the articles in this month’s Varsity reveals, the current scheme is not free from loopholes. If the government wants to help the students wholeheartedly, it should plug the loopholes and put more resources on the verification and screening process, so that the ones truly in need will be helped indeed.