Hong Kong exam bosses agree to axe controversial history test question
- Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority bows to unprecedented request from government
- But some candidates who sat for the test say the authority’s alternative grading mechanism is ‘grossly unfair’
Hong Kong’s exam authorities on Friday evening announced their decision to scrap a controversial university-entrance history exam question on early 20th century Sino-Japanese relations, acquiescing to an unprecedented request made last week by the Education Bureau.
The two excerpts included one from 1905 that discussed a Japanese plan to allow Chinese students to study law and politics there, and a second that covered revolutionary leader Huang Xing’s seeking of financial help from a Japanese politician in 1912.
In a statement, HKEAA said its 17-member council concluded there were problems with the way the question had been set, saying it deviated from the learning and assessment goals of the senior secondary education level’s curriculum and assessment guide.
“The reference materials are only excerpts and the question is also not comprehensive, which makes it easy for candidates to come up with a biased and incomprehensive interpretation or answer within the short period of exam time,” the statement read.
“Despite being an open-ended question, setting the scene in the first half of the 20th century in China was inappropriate for a secondary school-level public exam.”
It added that the question had also deviated from the guidelines on handling sensitive topics.