Scholarships for overseas study are an investment in Hong Kong

When Ray Fung got into the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2007, he wasn't sure he could afford to attend. Although Wharton is the best place for his intended field of study - operations management and marketing - an undergraduate degree at an Ivy League school typically comes with a price tag of around HK$400,000 a year, 10 times the cost at a local university.

Fortunately, Fung later secured an overseas scholarship from the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund, one of three awarded for undergraduate studies that year, which paid most of his fees. Had he failed to get a scholarship, he would have had to stay here.

Whereas local universities are heavily subsidised, an overseas education is cost-prohibitive to most middle-class families. There are only a handful of scholarships that allow outstanding students to pursue degrees abroad. Even though a number of US universities now include international students in their need-blind admissions policy, most have limited financial aid for non-citizens.

It is no wonder Hong Kong students at top universities in the US or Britain come disproportionately from moneyed backgrounds.

In contrast, Singapore is rich in scholarship. In 2012, its Public Service Commission alone sent 53 high-achieving students to the world's most prestigious institutions. Singapore believes scholarships are essential to its meritocratic system.

Of course, a few scholarships can't narrow the disparate educational experiences between the most well-off and the least. They can only level the playing field for high-achieving students. Nonetheless, such scholarships do give many young people whose parents are of modest means opportunities to "move up and do well".