FAQs
How to subscribe to the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP)?
1. Who can subscribe to the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP)?
The e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP) is open for subscription to all schools, educational organizations and the public. The Quality Education Fund (QEF) sponsorship will be provided to publicly-funded schools include government schools, aided schools (including special schools), caput schools, and Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) schools.
(Please refer to Question 10 for details of the eLAFP project sponsorship under the Quality Education Fund.)
2. May all schools or members of the public subscribe to different items under the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP) at the same time?
Yes. All schools and the public can subscribe to multiple project deliverables under the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP). Publicly-funded schools can select various deliverables using the QEF sponsorship, while non-funded schools can subscribe at their own cost.
The twenty-two successful project deliverables funded by QEF cover different learning areas and disciplines, with varying subscription periods. Schools are advised to carefully select deliverables that best align with their e-learning development needs.
3. Can schools under the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP) try out the twenty-two successful project deliverables funded by QEF in advance? And is it possible for a school to terminate a deliverable if it is not satisfied with the results provided by the service operator during the trial service?
For these twenty-two successful project deliverables funded by QEF, “free trials” are available subject to the arrangements of services operators, and schools may make enquiries with services operators according to their school-based needs.
All schools are advised to contact the services operator for details of the deliverables before the subscription on the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP) website of the Hong Kong Education City (EdCity), and try to understand the actual results and experiential effects of the deliverables in a trial period, so as to assess whether the service meets the needs of the school’s e-learning development.
After the completion of the trial, schools may decide whether to subscribe to the service at their own discretion based on their school-based needs and the effectiveness of the trial. Schools are not required to subscribe to the service to participate in the trial.
These twenty-two successful project deliverables funded by QEF are based on a half-school year (half year) or a school year (one year). Schools can renew their subscription upon expiry if they wish to continue using the services. (Please refer to Question 5 for details of the subscription procedure.)
4. How can the non-publicly funded schools who are interested in the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP) to subscribe these twenty-two successful projects funded by QEF?
Non-publicly-funded schools interested in participating in the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP) by first registering as a school member on the Hong Kong Education City website. After registration, schools can subscribe twenty-two deliverables using their school account.
Non-publicly-funded schools, not eligible for sponsorship from the Quality Education Fund (QEF), are responsible for purchasing services at their own cost. These schools can access the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP) website on EdCity to subscribe to services from various services operators based on their specific requirements. (For detailed application procedures, please refer to Question 5.)
All twenty-two successful project deliverables funded by QEF through the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP) must be subscribed via the EdCity eLAFP website. The services offered by these deliverables funded by QEF differ from one another. For detailed information on the service contents and contract specifications of each deliverables please visit https://web.edcity.hk/en/elafp/projects/.
5. What is the subscription process for schools and the public to participate in the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP)?
The e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP) is open to three categories of subscribers:
If your school has not registered an EdCity School Account, please visit:
https://www.edcity.hk/home/en/membership-school/
If your school has not registered an EdCity School Account, please visit:
https://www.edcity.hk/home/en/membership-school/
6. Is it possible for the school to modify the services during the programme participation period if it becomes necessary for teaching or students' needs?
All services are non-amendable upon submission of documents or payment.
7. Upon approval of the sponsorship application, what is the earliest time for schools using QEF sponsorship to start using the services?
The timeframe for this process is influenced by factors like the service arrangement of the service operators and their resource deployment.
Typically, schools require 10 to 20 working days for preparations, including technical configuration and account activation, following subscription to the service.
It is important to consider that the earliest service activation time is contingent upon the school’s data update in EdData.
Details of project deliverables subscription for the 2025/26 school year
8.When can schools, teachers, or interested parties begin subscribing to the QEF eLAFP project deliverables?
Application for subscription the first half of the 2025/26 school year or the entire 2025/26 school year starts from 30 June 2025 to 30 September 2025*.
If you only wish to subscribe for the second half of the 2025/26 school year, the tentative date of application is from January to February 2026.
Schools may subscribe to project deliverables for either a full school year, first half or second half of the school year, according to their needs.
*The subscription deadline only applies to Publicly-funded Schools that would like to use the QEF eLAFP voucher. Self-pay Participating Schools and the Public are not subject to this deadline.
9. How is the project deliverables subscription period calculated?
Schools may subscribe to project deliverables for either a school year, first half or second half of a school year, according to their needs.
Service period:
First Half of the School Year: Commencing on 1 September and concluding at the end of February of the following year
Second Half of the School Year: Commencing on 1 February and concluding on 31 August of the same year
Full School Year: Commencing on 1 September and concluding on 31 August of the following year
The sponsorship from the Quality Education Fund
10. What about the amount and disbursement arrangements of the sponsorship from the QEF?
For each publicly-funded school, an amount of sponsorship will be reserved in the form of a voucher, which is the maximum amount of sponsorship the school would benefit. To facilitate schools’ better planning and utilisation of the reserved sponsorship, eLAFP Voucher will be provided in the following two phases:
Phase I: In the first 2 years (from the 2025/26 to 2026/27 school years), an sponsorship amount will be reserved for each school to subscribe to the deliverable(s). By the end of the 2026/27 school year, any unused voucher amount will lapse. The amount allotted depends on the number of approved operating classes in the 2025/26 school year as follows:
18 classes or below, estimated eLAFP Voucher amount: $150,000
19 to 24 classes, estimated eLAFP Voucher amount: $200,000
25 to 30 classes, estimated eLAFP Voucher amount: $250,000
31 classes or above, estimated eLAFP Voucher amount: $300,000
Phase II: QEF will provide the second round of voucher to sponsor eligible schools to use the deliverables from the 2027/28 school year onwards until the end of sponsorship period for all deliverables. In this phase, the amount allotted to an eligible school will be determined by a number of factors including school’s proposed plan on subscribing to the deliverables for use in the second phase; its track record of using the deliverables in the first phase; and the total sponsorship under eLAFP, etc. When the sponsorship period of all deliverables ends, any unused voucher amount will lapse.
Schools are advised to review the learning needs of their students, and exercise discretion in making the choice of deliverables to maximise the benefits for students with the eLAFP Voucher. If the allotted voucher amount has been used up or the balance is insufficient to subscribe to certain deliverable, the school concerned needs to pay the difference following the prevailing procedures/ guidelines for the procurement of e-learning resources. The school’s payment will be handled by EdCity.
11. What is the amount of sponsorship available to each Eligible Publicly-funded School? How can I enquire about the remaining sponsorship for a school?
Eligible Publicly-funded School may access their sponsorship status by logging into the EdCity e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP) website via their school buyer account. This will display both the approved sponsorship total and available balance.
12.Can Eligible Publicly-funded Schools apply for additional funding from other funding schemes while subscripting in the QEF eLAFP projects?
While participating in the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP), Eligible Publicly-funded Schools may seek additional funding through other schemes to support their e-Learning initiatives. However, all funding applications must meet the specific criteria of the respective funding schemes and ensure no overlap with those of the eLAFP sponsorship by QEF.
13. If the eLAFP sponsorship is exhausted, what are the channels for schools to obtain funding if they wish to continue to use the service?
If the special sponsorship for the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP) has been fully utilised, schools may continue the development of e-Learning by raising funds through various channels such as other funding sources. Schools may also consider making use of other school-based resources, budgeting and deploying them appropriately, or seeking donations from parents and alumni, etc.
14. How can Eligible Publicly-funded Schools check the amount of sponsorship they have received under the Quality Education Fund e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP)?
The Eligible Publicly-funded Schools are advised to login to the EdCity eLAFP website with the account of the school buyer.
For further information, schools are advised to make written enquiries to the relevant departments or contact EdCity in writing at elafp-info@edcity.hk if assistance is required.
Important Information
15. How can schools seek assistance if there are disagreements between them and the project service operators while using the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP)?
In the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP) under the Quality Education Fund, EdCity’s role mainly involves promoting and managing school and public subscriptions, with no authority over sponsorship approval. EdCity is not responsible for the services and content of the twenty-two funded project deliverables under the eLAFP, nor for any losses incurred by schools during their participation in the programme.
16. Do participating schools need to provide a lot of student information to the service operators?
No. The schools shall not provide student information directly to the service operators.
The twenty-two successful project deliverables funded by QEF shall operate through EdCity’s EdConnect/EdData system. Schools shall only authorize data access requests via their EdData accounts.
17. Where can teachers seek assistance if they encounter problems while using the service?
For technical assistance, teachers may contact EdCity staff via the EdCity eLAFP website or email to elafp-info@edcity.hk.
Contact information for all service providers is accessible on the website.
18. How does the service operator protect the personal data of schools and students?
All service operators under the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme (eLAFP) must integrate with EdCity’s EdConnect/EdData system.
Access to services requires schools, teachers and students to log in using their EdCity accounts.
19. Will the services operator conduct exchanges, training and lesson preparation with core members of the school (e.g. subject panel teacher, project managers, etc.)?
Please refer to individual service operator’s terms and conditions for specific arrangements.
EdCity's Service Commitments for eLAFP
20. How quickly does EdCity respond to customer service enquiries?
At EdCity, we prioritize prompt responses to customer enquiries with different service levels tailored to meet various needs:
For enquiries recorded before 3pm on working days via “Live Chat,” we aim to reply within 3 hours from the recorded time.
In the case of enquiries recorded after 3pm on working days via “Live Chat,” our goal is to respond by 12pm on the next working day.
Written inquiries, including emails, are addressed within 3 working days.
For written complaints, we provide an acknowledgment within 3 working days and aim to issue a preliminary reply within 10 working days to ensure effective resolution.
21. What is the timeframe for EdCity to review the subscription uploaded documents and address any issues?
Upon receiving the uploaded document(s) from the EdCity eLAFP website, EdCity will review them and respond within 5 working days if there are any concerns.
22. How long does it take for the subscription process to proceed after validating all required documents?
EdCity will proceed with the subscription and notify the services operator for initial setup once all necessary documents are validated.