Health guidelines published for DSE takers as Eng oral exam resumes

The English language oral exam will resume after a two-year hiatus from March 29 to April 8 in next year's Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education exam.

The Chinese language oral exam will be suspended for the third consecutive year due to the pandemic. 

Considering the impact of extended class suspension under the Covid-19 pandemic on the learning and teaching of students sitting the 2022 HKDSE, the written tests are scheduled from April 22, 2022, according to the Handbook for Candidates published by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority.

To prevent the spread of the virus, candidates are required to wear a surgical mask throughout the whole examination and rub their hands with alcohol sanitizer gel before entering the preparation room and examination room. 

Candidates are advised to arrive at the examination center at least 30 minutes before the start of the examination.They are required by the authority to get their body temperature checked and complete and sign the ‘Candidate’s Declaration on Health’ on each examination day. Making false, incomplete or misleading declarations may lead to a penalty or even disqualification from the examination. 

Invigilators will check the declaration form on the spot, which is available for download from the HKEAA website from early February 2022, and they will also take the body temperature of all the candidates. 

Most of the examination centers will set up body temperature screening stations at the entrance, while some will measure body temperature with handheld thermometers.

The authority strongly advised candidates not to bring their mobile phones to the examination center. If they do, they are required to turn it off and put it under their chairs in a position clearly visible to the invigilators. 

Candidates are responsible for ensuring that no sound emits from their mobile phones even when they are turned off. If an alarm that can emit sound rings during the examination, they will be subject to a mark penalty or downgrading.

The authority has announced earlier the streamlined assessments for 12 exams in next year's HKDSE, and the streamlined practical examinations for Physical Education and Music are scheduled for mid-February to mid-April 2022.