The Problem

Post-secondary and tertiary education are mostly not popular options among ethnic minorities. While their low income is a major factor, in some cases, it can also be due to cultural and family barriers. In Hong Kong, among the youth aged 18 to 22, only about one-tenth of the ethnic minority community receive a full-time degree education (10.1%), while the ratio is double in the majority population (22.9%). Source: Research Office, Legislative Council Secretariat. (2018). Statistics Highlights. Education Challenges Faced by South Asians. Click here to read more. 

In addition, many ethnic minority children struggle to learn Cantonese in their public secondary schools, and they lack the support at school and home to learn the language. Conversely, in private schools, the language of instruction is English and, in some cases, may be better suited to our community. However, with limited financial resources, exposure, and networks, ethnic minority families do not have the option of considering these schools.  

Our Work 

Better education is the key to a better quality of life and upward mobility for both children and their families. 

In 2019, we organised our very first University Scholarship Fair. We aimed to bring scholarship providers and potential recipients under one roof to allow them to network with each other. Our motivation was to create transparency from the tertiary institutions’ side and easier access to information for our youth who wish to pursue further education. 

Due to the pandemic, in 2020, we moved to a virtual fair. Although the logistics were different, it did not stop us from connecting schools with students and providing access to resources. 

Since 2021, not only were we able to organise a physical fair for University Education, but we also organised our very first Private Schools Fair. Some international and private schools have bursaries and scholarships. We noticed that financial information from these schools was not transparent and easily accessible to ethnic minority families. The Private Schools Fair seeks to encourage international and private schools to give financial scholarships and bursaries to ethnic minority children in need. 

Through the Scholarship Fairs, we have aimed to foster more transparency for these schools as well. 

The objective of both these fairs has been to raise awareness of scholarships available to the ethnic minority community as well as to provide scholarship providers with easy access to a pool of talents. 

Our Impact

Since 2019, 687 ethnic minority individuals joined the scholarship fairs organised by The Zubin Foundation which was also covered by SCMP.

Our Sponsors 

 The Swire Group Charitable Trust (2021-2023) 

Linklaters (Venue Sponsor in 2019) 

Our Partners

To view our education partners, please click here.

To view our supporting organisations, please click here.

Words from Our Service User

“Education is a precious thing! I am blessed to have received a scholarship from Harrow International School. The school’s vision of Educational Excellence for Life and Leadership can help me achieve my goals in life. Their community is very accommodating and respectful. It feels like home. I have had many new experiences, I made a lot of friends, and I learned so much from my teachers and tutors. They are all caring and very helpful in every way. From the bottom of my heart, I am grateful that I am a part of the Harrow Community. Thank you to The Zubin Foundation for guiding me and helping me with the scholarship process.” -Nathan Osbual, Harrow International School Hong Kong