Ditch ‘stressful’ competency exams for 8-year-old pupils once and for all, Hong Kong parents demand
Unhappiness with the government’s standardised tests has raged for years and parents are not mollified even after the exam was overhauled two years ago
Parents and lawmakers on Wednesday pressed the government to scrap a competency test notorious for stressing out Primary Three pupils and warned that they would “escalate actions” if their demands were not met, though they stopped short of saying they would boycott the assessment.
The Basic Competency Assessment to gauge pupils’ standards of Chinese, English and Maths is scheduled for May and June, but a government-appointed committee is expected to recommend next week if the unpopular test should continue, while Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said a decision would be made by next month.
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Concern group Parents United of Hong Kong and education lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen held a press conference to announce they were petitioning the government to cancel this year’s BCA and instead conduct discussions on whether to continue with the test in the long run.
It was signed by 29 lawmakers from across the political spectrum, including five pro-establishment legislators such as Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee of the New People’s Party and Abraham Razack of the Business and Professionals Alliance.