Critics question free gifts and discounts as colleges vie for subdegree students

Free gifts and discounts are being offered to students who sign up for subdegree programmes as colleges prepare for the annual scramble to recruit candidates denied a university place.

Fewer than half of all Form Seven school-leavers will win undergraduate places when the results of the central admissions system are announced on July 31 - leaving thousands of students searching for alternatives.

But critics say the number of subdegree places is expected to far exceed demand from students, and some community colleges could have difficulty filling their programmes this year.

Hong Kong Community College in Hung Hom is offering a free 512-megabyte portable Memory Stick to all students who register for its associate degree programmes. Those who paid the first fees by Friday also got a free English-language course valued at HK$2,100.

Promotional materials issued by the college, which is part of Polytechnic University, also promise 'substantial savings' on personal computers and personal digital assistants offered at campus exhibitions for freshmen over the next two months.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong College of Technology is to issue a 'knowledge-added card' for HK$50 that gives a 10 per cent discount on tuition fees for diploma courses in creative industries, including multimedia production, fashion design and interior design.