Students at Polytechnic University (PolyU) are more willing to learn Putonghua following the introduction of a Chinese language exit test there, officials say.
Out of about 2,000 graduating students, more than 1,000 took the university's written Putonghua test earlier this year, while about 900 have had their spoken Putonghua assessed.
The exit test was formally adopted as part of PolyU's language policy for students this year following a trial period starting from 1995.
It is compulsory for final-year students of English or Chinese, and optional for all other graduating students unless their departments specifically require the test to be taken.
All first-year students are also required to attend a 42-hour training course in Putonghua.
Test co-ordinator Professor Lee Hok-ming said willingness to learn Putonghua had grown stronger, especially among students graduating in languages, because they did not want to fail the test. Students have the option of either taking all three components of the test - listening, written and oral - together, or any one of them individually.
Developed in consultation with mainland language experts and members of China's State Language Commission (SLC), the exit test aims to provide an objective evaluation of a student's Putonghua standard, either in spoken or written form.