Hong Kong education authorities announce DSE exams to start in April
- The university entrance exams will be compressed into three weeks, with results to be released on July 20
- Candidates will be required to show a negative Covid-19 rapid test result for each exam they sit
This will be the third year students are taking the DSE exam during the pandemic. Hong Kong’s education authorities announced on Monday that the city’s university entrance exams will kick off in April as scheduled, with all candidates required to show a negative Covid-19 rapid test result for every subject they sit.
Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said in a press conference on Monday afternoon that the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams will aim to start on April 22 as scheduled.
He added that the exams will be compressed into three weeks to minimise the risk of disruption to the process.
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Under the new timetable, the written examinations will run from April 22 to May 14, while the release date for the results tentatively remains July 20.
Students sitting for the exams, however, think they are likely to be postponed.
“Frankly speaking, I don’t think the exams can be held normally while this virus is still raging in society,” said Isaac Leung Chi-nok, a Form Six student at HKFYG Lee Shau-kee College.
Janice Mook, from Diocesan Girls’ School, agreed.
“I haven’t been able to go out since January because many of my neighbours and relatives have got Covid,” she said.
Under the revised timetable, examinations for the four core subjects, Chinese, English, mathematics and liberal studies, will take place during the first week. Major elective subjects such as biology and economics will follow, and science and humanities subjects will be scheduled for alternate days. Practicable and smaller entry subjects will take place later.
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While Mook thinks students might burn out with the tighter schedule, she said it wouldn’t affect her own revision.
“[My elective subjects] Business, accounting and financial studies and economics are lined up on consecutive days, so it won’t affect my studying, but I might feel more stressed out that week.”
Leung, on the other hand, said he is “speechless” about the new timeline, saying it left him with less time to rest between subjects.
“Originally, I had two to three days off between each elective, but now they take place over three consecutive days,” he said, saying he is taking exams for information and communication technology, tourism and hospitality studies, and history.
In a press conference by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) later on the same day, it is also announced that all candidates are required to show a negative rapid Covid-19 test result for every subject they sit, which will be provided for students.
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Leung agreed that the test should be taken to protect everyone, and Mook commended the protocol.
“It provides a safety net for everyone taking the DSE.”
Around 50,000 candidates are registered to take the public exams this year.