About 200,000 students from low- income families are set to benefit from an internet subsidy scheme that clicked into place yesterday.
They will pay only HK$10.70 a month to use a new computer with broadband access under the online learning support program, according to the Internet Professional Association, or iProA.

The scheme, “Net-Com rock n’ roll,” which is funded by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, offers students a branded notebook computer and 6Mbps broadband service on a three-year contract.

This usually costs HK$1,428 a year, but eligible families will pay HK$128 with a government subsidy of HK$1,300.

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The scheme is being run by eInclusion Foundation, a nonprofit-making organization with core partners of iProA and the Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong.

Applications are being accepted from families in eight districts in New Territories East, Kowloon East and Hong Kong Island East.

Primary and secondary school students on Comprehensive Social Security Assistance and those who pass the existing means test for financial assistance under the Student Financial Assistance Agency are eligible.

Winnie Tang Shuk-ming, chairwoman of the foundation and president of iProA, said the scheme aims to narrow the digital divide in online learning for the needy.

Parents and students will also receive a range of support services including customized training and hardware repair, said foundation chief executive Gary Cheng Chun-wah.

To Kwa Wan Parents Concern Group representative Yang Lan welcomed the program, saying that with a new computer at home, her nine-year-old son will not have to stay in school until late afternoon to finish his homework.

Tang, meanwhile, said she and iProA have nothing to do with the design of Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen’s election website as claimed in some news reports.

It is the first time she has responded to the allegation, more than a month after news reports said she and some members were involved in helping Tang to prepare for the next chief executive election with a new website.

“Our association has more than 2,000 members. It cannot be held responsible for the private business of individual members.”

She added that she first met Tang in 2002. However, she had not taken on the job of designing a website for him.