‘Bittersweet’ ending: 44,000 DSE pupils take last ever liberal studies test under Hong Kong’s university entrance exams

Questions about city’s plastic shopping bag charge and quality of life for elderly residents appear in final exam

Controversial subject soon to be scrapped to make way for revamped syllabus under ‘citizenship and social development’

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The final liberal studies exam did not involve any questions related to politics. Photo: Handout

Published: 9:13pm, 27 Apr 2023Updated: 12:37pm, 28 Apr 2023

More than 44,000 pupils took the last liberal studies paper under Hong Kong’s university entrance exams on Thursday, as the controversial subject would soon be scrapped, with some describing the experience as “bittersweet”.

Some test takers said the questions were generally “easier” compared with past Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams, while others expressed nostalgia over bidding farewell to the subject.

The final exam on Thursday did not involve any questions related to politics. The test featured three mandatory questions about the city’s plastic shopping bag charge, drug patents and the quality of life for elderly residents, while the selected topics included global food security, e-learning and the impact of food delivery platforms on mainland China.

An older and new textbook for liberal studies at the HKTA Ching Chung Secondary School in Kwun Tong in 2021. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Angel Leung, a 17-year-old pupil from True Light Girls College, said she believed learning liberal studies could improve critical thinking and organisational skills.

“Now, I only hope that the new subject [citizenship and social development] can also help students improve these skills,” she said, referring to the renaming of the subject under a new syllabus.

Leung added that she was happy that the final paper was easier than she had expected, especially when compared with the English and mathematics exams she took earlier this week.

The DSE candidate said she was doubtful about getting the top grade in liberal studies, even though she had answered all the questions. “I feel like many students can answer the questions very well. It would be really hard for me to stand out,” she said.