Public exam officials have criticised the ability of secondary school pupils to think critically and express themselves adequately.
In the latest report on the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination - which was held for the last time this year - and Hong Kong A-levels, among the words frequently used by examiners are 'narrow-mindedness', 'immaturity' and 'bad grammar'.
In one comment on the HKCEE Chinese writing exam, an examiner wrote: 'Candidates' observations [are] weak and they are narrow-minded and immature.'
In another criticism, referring to the general student performance in the AS (Advanced Subsidiary) level use of English exam, the examiner says fewer than 5 per cent of candidates could write highly accurately. The examiner says the problem affected the 'vast majority of candidates' and is one that should be 'urgently' addressed.
Chow Ping-yan, chairman of the policy watchdog Education Convergence, agreed students' inability to demonstrate basic academic skills was a major systemic problem. 'It may be the ability of students, but it may also be that there is a problem with the schools,' he said.
Chow also pointed out that most of the 20,000 candidates who took this year's HKCEE exam were repeaters aiming to better their mark and who studied on their own.
A spokeswoman for the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority said this meant their performance should not be directly compared with past results.