Rules on who gets free DSE exam entry from Hong Kong government tightened

The finance chief announced DSE fees would be waived for all entrants in 2019. But now the government will only allow school students to benefit, to deter ‘pranksters’

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Fees to sit the DSE vary from HK$414 to HK$619 per subject. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 2:56pm, 17 Mar 2018Updated: 10:36pm, 17 Mar 2018

The government has tightened the rules on who qualifies for free entry to Hong Kong’s most important student exam, amending a policy first unveiled in last month’s budget.

Only school students will benefit from the exam fee waiver, to stop people taking the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exam – whose results determine university admissions – for fun or to make mischief.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said during his 2018-19 budget speech that the government would cover fees for candidates sitting the 2019 DSE.

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As part of efforts to share a larger-than-expected HK$138 billion surplus for the last financial year, officials set aside HK$180 million to pay the fees.

Justifying the decision to tighten the criteria, Education Secretary Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said he wanted to stop opportunistic mature students and “pranksters” taking advantage at the expense of the latest batch of pupils.

Education Secretary Kevin Yeung said it was best to limit the fee waiver to school students. Photo: Winson Wong

“I think it will not be in the best interest of the students [to have the waiver open to all],” said Yeung, who discussed the changes with the city’s exam administrators. “I think the proposal that we now make is to provide a very stable environment so that candidates can perform at their best in the examination.”