Two mainland schools for HK pupils approved for presenting students to DSE exams

Two mainland schools catering to Hong Kong students can send students to attend Diploma of Secondary Education exam from next year, the exam authority announced yesterday.

In response to the media inquiry, the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority said the two mainland schools are: Shenzhen Hong Kong Pui Kiu College Longhua Xinyi School and Affiliated School of Jinan University for Hong Kong and Macao Students in Guangzhou.

It enables secondary six students from both schools to attend the DSE exams as school candidates.

The exam authority said the Education Bureau has been communicating with its mainland counterparts regarding the arrangements.

"It involves various aspects of preparation, which require thorough consideration and planning, as well as sufficient time for proper preparation," an authority spokesman said.

"HKEAA emphasizes that it will endeavor to ensure that the HKDSE exams are of a consistent international standard wherever it is held," he said, adding that more details and relevant arrangements will be announced in due course.

It was in June last year that the exam authority amended its HKDSE regulations allowing students to sit written exams in the mainland from 2024.

A mainland school must be a qualified institution for children from Hong Kong and must approve to offer the HKDSE curriculum by relevant Chinese authorities if it plans on becoming an examination center.

However, students have to take the English oral, PE, and music exams, as well as some applied learning and language subjects, such as psychology and French, in Hong Kong. Those who are not from Hong Kong schools can still sit for the exams as private candidates.

The Education Bureau earlier announced that several schools in the Greater Bay Area were considering becoming DSE exam centers.

At least three mainland schools for children from Hong Kong had submitted applications for the arrangement, including Shenzhen Hongkong Pui Kiu College Longhua Xinyi School.

Tommy Wong Tang-tat, the school's principal, said officials from the Education Bureau and the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications observed some of the school's lessons, while the exam authority inspected its halls and storage room.

Meanwhile, registration for next year's HKDSE will end Thursday, October 5 for both school and private candidates.

School candidates must register via their schools, while private candidates can submit their applications online via the HKDSE Examination Online Services website.