The Education Bureau says the Kindergarten & Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme's fee-remission ceilings will be adjusted annually from the 2009-10 school year to ensure there are sufficient kindergarten places to give parents a choice.

The adjustment will be made on the basis of the annual weighted average fees of the non-profit-making half-day and whole-day kindergartens eligible for voucher redemption under the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme.

The bureau said today ,by reinstating the annual adjustment mechanism, needy families' concern about the choice of affordable kindergartens is addressed.

The voucher scheme is providing direct fee subsidy to about 117,000 children in the 2008-09 school year in about 820 kindergartens - about 85% of them. Through the fee-remission scheme, the maximum level of fee assistance including the voucher subsidy has been capped at $16,000 per student a year for half-day kindergartens, and $25,400 for whole-day kindergartens.

Low-income families may apply for extra financial support through the fee-remission scheme on top of the voucher amount. The fee-remission amount for an eligible student is determined by the level of assistance, the actual school fee charged by the kindergarten or the fee-remission ceiling, and the fee subsidy from the voucher.

The Chief Executive in Council yesterday endorsed the annual adjustment mechanism, which is subject to the Legislative Council's funding approval. The bureau will start a review later this year and consult stakeholders.