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Non-profit organisations will need to spend millions of dollars before they qualify for a new Hong Kong government subsidy, an expert on electronic learning says. The HK$50million grant has been proposed to develop high-quality digital textbooks for schools.
The government is promoting e-textbooks as a way to break the stranglehold of textbook publishers. Two weeks ago it failed to force publishers to cut textbook costs by separating sales of textbooks and free teaching materials.
Textbook publishers have been accused of pushing up prices, with schools and parents fearing they will have to pay additional costs.
Wilton Fok, head of the University of Hong Kong's e-learning technology development laboratory, welcomes the government's subsidy which could help registered charities and universities publish e-textbooks.
Yet he fears it may not cover the huge cost of producing e-books and doubts its chances of success.
His warnings echo comments by Erwin Huang, chief executive of WebOrganic, which offers subsidised computer devices to needy students. Huang says the subsidy is miniscule - 'a drop of water to fill a bucket'.