The Ministry of Education said Monday that 18 universities and colleges, 12 from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and six from the Macao SAR -- are authorized to enroll new students from the mainland this year.

The schools will admit students from every part of the Chinese mainland except Gansu and Qinghai provinces and the ethnic autonomous regions of Xinjiang, Tibet, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia.

They will finish recruiting before mainland universities start the process to avoid overlapping.

Degrees from Hong Kong or Macao institutions of higher learning are recognized by mainland education and administrative departments, according to the Ministry of Education.

Among the 12 Hong Kong institutions are the University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University and Lingnan University.

They will recruit students for undergraduate programs only.

Macao universities, including the University of Macao, Macao University of Science & Technology, Macao Polytechnic Institute, and Kiang Wu Nursing College of Macao, offer undergraduate programs. Postgraduate programs are offered by the University of Macao, the Macao University of Science & Technology, and Asia International Open University (Macao).

(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2008)