Call to scrap exam fees
A teachers' group has called for the abolition of examination fees under the new senior secondary academic structure that starts next year.
A recent poll had revealed many students were dissatisfied with the running of the Examinations and Assessment Authority and wanted fully subsidised fees for the two public exams and the 2012 Diploma of Secondary Education Examination.
Education Policy Concern Organisation chairman Mervyn Cheung Man-ping said the government should set aside recurrent funding to ensure the diversity and high quality of public exams.
'The authority records huge losses every year from the provision of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and A-level exams,' Mr Cheung said. 'In the 2007-08 academic year, they posted around HK$40 million in losses from the two exams combined.'
Women Teachers' Organisation chairwoman Pauline Chow Lo-sai said the authority had 'poor ability in handling exam emergencies like blackouts and cheating incidents'.
