The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination this year will kick off on April 22 as scheduled, with students sitting in the exams required to test negative for Covid-19 on rapid tests before they are allowed into exam venues.
The examination period will be compressed to three weeks from four, the HKEAA announced. Two continhency dates - May 13 and June 2 - were set aside should the annual university entrance exams not be able to take place as scheduled.
The date of release of results remains tentatively on July 20, and will be pushed back to August 10 and 15 respectively should the exams were postponed to the two contingency dates.
If the pandemic situation remains severe by mid-May, the 2022 HKDSE will be
canceled, said the HKEAA. Candidates’ HKDSE results will then be predicted based on their school internal assessment marks, with the highest level awarded for an assessed subject result to be level 5 in the exams.
The HKEAA also noted that candidates must check their body temperature, perform the Covid-19 rapid antigen test, and complete the ‘Candidate’s Declaration Form on Health’ before heading to the examination centre on each examination day.
School candidates will receive the rapid antigen test kits from their respective schools
while for private candidates, the HKEAA will inform them about the collection details.
Candidates who developed symptoms of fever or Covid, as well as those undergoing mandatory quarantine or those tested positive with the rapid antigen test should not head to the exam venue.
School candidates who are absent from the examinations due to the above reasons may
apply to the HKEAA through their schools for assessed subject results.
Meanwhile, to prevent candidates from taking off their masks inside the examination venues, the procedure for checking candidates’ identity will take place in an open area and before the examination, with the venues admitting candidates earlier on the day of the examinations.
Education sector lawmaker Tang Fei said measures should be in place to ensure the negative results are genuine.
He suggested that students can finish the rapid tests at home and show proof at the exam venue. Or they can be arranged to undergo the rapid tests at the exam venue.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced earlier that all kindergartens, primary and secondary as well as international schools must start their “summer” holiday next month and resume classes after the Easter holiday ending on April 18.
Authorities will utilize thousands of school campuses as testing and vaccination sites during that period, she said.
