Letters | Strengthen international recognition of Hong Kong’s university entry exams
- Readers discuss concerns about the Hong Kong education system, national security legislation, visa-free access to mainland China, and the city’s property market outlook
In the Legislative Council on January 24, lawmaker Tang Fei expressed concerns about the international recognition of the Diploma of Secondary Education in his inquiry to Acting Secretary for Education Sze Chun-fai. He drew attention to the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) website showing that more than 70 overseas universities had yet to update their admission requirements for Diploma of Secondary Education candidates from 2024 onwards.
Although the issue was effectively addressed, it has rekindled concerns about the future of the Hong Kong education system and international recognition of the DSE, given that many students rely on DSE results to apply to foreign schools.
In 2012, the DSE replaced the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) and the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE) as the sole university admission examination. To maintain international recognition of the Hong Kong education system, new curriculums aimed to combine the best elements of the old syllabuses for various subjects.
Faced with complaints from students and teachers, the authorities rarely conduct comprehensive or structural revisions to curriculums, choosing instead to simply trim content without addressing underlying concerns. For instance, logic items like the concept of “if and only if” seem to have been removed from mathematics Module 2. Social studies subjects also cover fewer topics.