Every year, Hong Kong universities reward high achievers in the Diploma of Secondary Education exam with scholarships that range from a one-off subsidy for living expenses to full tuition exemption. These offers are appealing but the requirements are demanding. In general, for the top universities, students must attain 5** (the highest level) in at least one subject to qualify. With limited scholarships, resources seem to be allocated only to students with the best results in the DSE examination. However, let’s not forget that many top students come from high-income families. This is because household income levels are linked to the amount of learning resources at a student’s disposal. Such access is especially pivotal during the pandemic. With face-to-face lessons at schools suspended and replaced by remote learning, the gap between the learning environment and equipment of the grass roots and the affluent has widened. For instance, students from privileged economic backgrounds have greater access to electronic devices – such as iPads and personal laptops – for online lessons and taking notes. By contrast, poorer students may have to share one desktop with several family members at home, inevitably affecting their studies. Last school year, students were mostly prohibited from going back to school and thus could not talk to their teachers in person to discuss their learning difficulties. The better-off could afford to attend private tutoring centres where they received exam-oriented drills and materials, even as the underprivileged were struggling to find a quiet learning environment at home. As the pandemic wears on, a yawning gap has emerged and segregated students according to their social background. In the end, despite the same amount of effort spent, students from high-income families are more likely to be the high achievers in the public exam and the beneficiaries of various scholarships. A University Grants Committee-funded undergraduate programme costs HK$42,100 a year and HK$168,400 for four years. Without a doubt, a scholarship would be extremely meaningful to those from humbler backgrounds. I am not writing to complain that it is unfair to reward the well-off students who pass the exam with flying colours. Instead, I would like to highlight the existing inequality. We have to think of what we can do to ensure that students from the grass roots have adequate opportunities and support during the pandemic and in the future. Coco Ngai, Kwun Tong