Hong Kong students’ summer holiday will start on March 7, some four months earlier than usual, though kindergartens and international schools will be able to switch to online learning instead if they so choose, the city’s education minister has announced. Kevin Yeung Yun-hung also said on Monday the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE), Hong Kong’s annual university entrance exams, would start on April 22 as scheduled. Although the vaccine passport scheme will not apply to candidates, they will be required to show a negative rapid Covid-19 test result for every subject they sit. The move to bring students’ summer break forward was prompted by the city’s surging fifth wave of coronavirus infections, and is aimed at freeing up campuses for use as mass Covid-19 testing and vaccination centres. “We hope that the face-to-face lessons of kindergartens and primary schools can resume after the Easter holiday if the epidemic situation improves, while secondary school students can go back to their schools after the public examination,” Yeung said, referring to the DSE exams. Early school holidays in Hong Kong will ‘add to workload, cause disruptions’ This year’s summer holiday will run from no earlier than March 7 until after the Easter break on April 22. The last day of the current school year will be pushed back to no later than August 12, while the next one will start on September 1. The announcement of secondary school placement results has been postponed until July 26. The proposal to bring forward the summer holiday had previously sparked strong concerns among some school heads over disruptions to learning. “We believe two weeks are enough for schools to process their administrative work. If we further postpone the new semester, we will deprive students of learning hours. This is not what we would like to see,” Yeung said. Local primary and secondary schools will have some flexibility on the exact dates, but they must start their holiday no later than March 17. They can also bring forward the last day of school to August 2. Kindergartens and international schools will be able to decide on their own holiday, but online lessons must be arranged if they do not adhere to the new schedule, as teachers will not be allowed to return to campus during the city’s universal Covid-19 testing drive slated for March. Yeung said there were technical difficulties when it came to international schools remaining open in July and August because they followed different academic calendars. Kindergartens also had shorter summer holidays to begin with, making it difficult for them to bring the break forward. He said the contracts of many teachers at international schools would expire during the summer holidays and they would return home. Under the present plan, international schools were allowed to continue online learning until after the Easter holidays, Yeung said. Hong Kong hospitals to use refrigerated containers for bodies ‘if needed’ Legislator Tang Fei, a vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, said it was unfair for the government to spare international schools from the revised summer break plan. “It will inevitably give the public an impression that some schools are more equal than others,” he said “It is not about students’ total learning hours. The sudden coming of a summer break will disrupt the progress of teaching. And it is hard to get students motivated after holidays.” Meanwhile, the DSE examination period will be compressed from one month to three weeks, Yeung said, while two contingency dates had been identified, May 13 and June 2, if the exams needed to be postponed. The exact exam dates will be confirmed in early April. The exams will be cancelled if the pandemic situation remains severe by mid-May and the examination authority will predict candidates’ DSE results based on school internal assessment marks. “At this stage, we still think that we can start the DSE on schedule. We need to consider a range of factors, as well as the need of students to apply for both local and overseas universities,” Yeung said, adding aspects included students’ preparedness and the availability of staff and assessors. Candidates are required to check their body temperature, perform a Covid-19 rapid antigen test and complete a health declaration form before entering the exam venue. Those who had Covid-19 symptoms, tested positive, underwent mandatory quarantine or had not completed compulsory testing would not be allowed to sit in at the exam, Yeung said, adding it was difficult for authorities to arrange other venues for such students. School candidates who are absent for virus-related reasons may apply to the authorities to assess their subject results. The highest level awarded will be revised from level 4 to level 5 in this year’s exam. Private candidates cannot be entertained as they do not have school assessments and their exam fee will be refunded. The government will allocate HK$20 million for the exam authority to step up anti-epidemic work for the DSE, including buying rapid test kits for candidates and staff in exam centres. Candidates may be required to take a photo of the test kit along with their identity card or admission tickets as proof. Those who provide a counterfeit result will be disqualified from the exam and face other legal consequences. The assessment system will also be upgraded so markers can grade tests scripts at home instead of at the assessment centres. About 50,000 candidates sat for the DSE last year. Hong Kong logged a record-breaking 34,466 cases on Monday, taking the overall number of infections to 205,780, with 851 related deaths. The government plans to conduct compulsory Covid-19 testing for all 7.4 million residents in March to tackle the worsening fifth wave, with tightened social-distancing measures remaining in force until at least April 20. Yeung revealed that officials visited more than 400 schools across the city over the weekend to gather information on premises for mass testing use, but the exact number taking part would depend on the overall plan by the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau. Permanent Secretary for Education Michelle Li Mei-sheung added: “Considerations could include the location of a school, how big it is, availability of supporting facilities, and barrier-free access. “In general, for the compulsory testing exercise, probably it will need to use the school hall or covered sports ground, or some bathrooms and rooms for storing supplies. There will be some special requirements. We shall try to coordinate with the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau and hope to be able to finalise a list as soon as possible.”