Hong Kong IB students want to skip exams over ‘unfair’ policy that lets peers in other countries miss tests because of coronavirus

Hundreds of Hong Kong pupils taking the International Baccalaureate (IB) exams this week want to be allowed to skip the tests, calling a new policy that guarantees certain grades for those who could not take the assessment during the coronavirus pandemic unfair.

They added that if cancelling the exams for Hong Kong students was not possible they should at least be covered by a system guaranteeing them minimum grades.

Under the “dual route” offered by the IB organisation for this year’s exams, written tests will go ahead in places where they can be held safely, while internal coursework and teachers’ predicted grades will apply to students in areas where the tests cannot take place because of Covid-19.

Those students unable to take the exams are guaranteed their final results will not be worse than their internal assessment scores and predicted grades based on schoolwork. At least one Hong Kong school said it was told it could not switch to the non-exam route unless it was closed because of the virus.

An online petition calling for equal treatment had gathered more than 870 signatures as of Tuesday, and IB was asked to respond before exams begin on Thursday. Dozens of students from the city’s biggest international school group, the English Schools Foundation (ESF), have also urged their heads to appeal to the Swiss-based organisation to let them skip the tests.

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The students believe the suspension of in-person lessons for most of the past year has affected their ability to learn, and the dual-route policy provided unfair competition, affecting their chances of getting into their preferred universities.