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SCMP Reporter

THE Class of '94 graduates today - with the dubious distinction of having collectively achieved the poorest A-Level results in years.

It will probably be no surprise: two years ago, they produced outstandingly low achievement in their O-Level examinations.

The Examinations Authority has branded the students, most of whom were born in 1975 - the Year of the Rabbit - as academic bunnies rather than suggesting that their teachers or the education system might be to blame for the poor performance.

While 75 per cent of students usually passed their A-Levels, barely 70 per cent of the Class of '94 got through, according to the secretary of the authority, Choi Chee-cheong.

Even the quality of their passes was significantly down on previous years.

This year, only 74 per cent of students earned more than 14 points from their passes when five points are given to an A down to one for an E. More than 84 per cent of the Class of '93 earned more than 14.

''This is explained by a drop in the calibre of students entering sixth form in 1992, compared with those entering the year before,'' Mr Choi said.

To make matters worse, there are more of them. The 26,088 candidates for the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination was 18 per cent more than last year.

They tried 21 A-Level and 17 Advanced Supplementary-Level (AS-Level) subjects, being examined for the first time under a new curriculum which aims at providing more practical and technical courses.

An AS-Level subject requires about half the teaching and study time of an A-Level subject.

AS-Levels Use of English and Chinese Language and Culture, which are prerequisites for nearly all local tertiary institutes, were the most popular and produced 86.6 and 79.6 per cent pass rates respectively. The rate in other AS-Level subjects was 69.5 per cent.

Of course, there were brilliant students with 10 As, but educationalists were shocked by the overall drop in achievement.

They called on the Government and schools to keep an eye on trends and do something to ensure that those born last year, the Year of the Chicken, are not dumb-clucks from the Class of 2012.



Poor show as Class of '94 branded 'bunnies'