Coronavirus: university entrance exam fears have Hong Kong students planning resits even though tests are a month away
- For many, success or failure in the Diploma of Secondary Education will decide their whole future
- Exams have already been delayed by a month, and with schools closed since February, some pupils fear the worst
Some Hong Kong pupils already plan to resit their university entrance exams – even though they will not take them for the first time until April 24.
With the papers delayed for a month by the coronavirus epidemic sweeping the city, pupils want to give themselves the best chance of getting into the university of their choice, as educators said many across Hong Kong felt anxious and under pressure.
About 2,000 students who are expected to take the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams this year have also signed an online petition calling for the cancelled Chinese and English language oral exams to be reinstated, fearing not taking them will hurt their chances of success.
Earlier this month, amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, Hong Kong postponed the DSE exams, which were originally scheduled to begin on March 27, which has affected more than 52,000 candidates. The city’s schools have been closed since the beginning of February.
Mickey Leung, a Form Six student at a Tuen Mun secondary school, said many of her classmates felt unhappy about the decision to postpone the tests.
