Coronavirus: Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education exams to go ahead despite Covid-19 pandemic
- More than 52,000 candidates scheduled to take tests, already postponed from March 27
- Officials have outlined social-distancing measures for inside exam halls
Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung on Wednesday also outlined details of contingency plans for the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams, including postponing them until June or even cancellation if the pandemic worsened, confirming an earlier Post report.
Kindergartens, primary and secondary schools have been closed since early February until further notice, but Yeung said it was too early to decide when the city’s 900,000 students could head back despite not ruling out the possibility of classes resuming before the summer break began in July.
The DSE exams, which more than 52,000 candidates were scheduled to take this year, had already been postponed from March 27 because of the health crisis.
“After reviewing the latest situation and seeking advice from the Centre for Health Protection, the Education Bureau and Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority have decided the DSE written exams should begin as planned from April 24,” Yeung said, adding that the results would be released on July 22.
Still, Yeung said there were three backup plans in case the local Covid-19 situation worsened; namely postponing the start of the exams to May 22, or if necessary, to June 11. If that happened, universities could face having to postpone the admissions process and push back the start of the next academic year to October.
