Opinion

Hong Kong’s exam obsession must end if we are to bring the best out of all our young people

To become a ‘smart city’ we need to maximise everyone’s different skills, not just those of the 15,000 that enter universities every year

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Students sit a Diploma of Secondary Education exam at Concordia Lutheran School in Shek Kip Mei. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Paul Yip is the founding director of the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention at the University of Hong Kong, and a professor at the university's Department of Social Work and Social Administration.

Published: 6:47pm, 18 Aug 2016Updated: 10:11pm, 18 Aug 2016

There are about 15,000 Diploma of Secondary Education students about to start a new chapter in their lives after being offered a place at government-funded universities. The University of Hong Kong has offered places to 78 per cent of the city’s top exam performers. Twenty outstanding athletes have also been admitted.

At the start of every academic year, there are many new faces on campus who bring the place alive. The new students are bombarded with orientation activities to remind them that university life will be both fun and challenging. Occasionally, the challenges prove too much for a few. New friends, a different learning environment and life in halls of residence are big adjustments for first-year students. All students and staff must work hard to make the transition a smooth one.

Some 68,128 students took the DSE exams and 24,611 students met the minimum requirements for admission to a university degree course. The universities can only take in 15,000 young people and some inevitably find themselves disappointed. The government has therefore worked to improve and expand vocational and professional educational opportunities for these youngsters by providing more than 18,000 places on 140 programmes covering degrees, higher diplomas, diplomas of foundation studies and diplomas of vocational education from the Vocational Training Council. Hopefully these serve as alternative choices to help young people acquire the skills and knowledge they will need for future career development.

Young people register for courses with the Vocational Training Council in Cheung Sha Wan. Photo: Edward Wong

In Hong Kong, academic achievement often seems to be the only way to success. Students are often defined by how well they perform in the DSE exams. This has added lots of unnecessary pressure, making many feel they are being “controlled” or “trapped” by the education system. The majority of parents spend considerable resources enrolling their children in numerous tutorial classes while sometimes overlooking their mental and physical well-being. Teachers in secondary schools overtly stress methods to achieve good grades, and forget how crucial it is to assist and educate students in developing their interests and skills, and in how to live a fulfilling life.

It is time to rethink and re-evaluate our education system. Somehow, the whole of society has become lost in defining what matters most in life, and this has particularly hit hard those less academically gifted.

Hong Kong’s exam obsession must end if we are to bring the best out of all our young people

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}To become a ‘smart city’ we need to maximise everyone’s different skills, not just those of the 15,000 that enter universities every year

To become a ‘smart city’ we need to maximise everyone’s different skills, not just those of the 15,000 that enter universities every year