Hong Kong pupils deface TSA exams in extradition bill protest, but are likely to escape punishment
- Pupils handed in empty or vandalised test papers, wrote random answers, or ticked every box in multiple choice questions
- Schools head expresses surprise at move which is believed to have been coordinated using Telegram app
Secondary school pupils in Hong Kong have taken to a citywide examination to vent frustrations over the controversial extradition bill, the Post has learned.
Michael Wong Wai-yu, who sits on the executive committee of the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools, said on Tuesday there had been reports of Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) candidates handing in empty or vandalised sheets or writing random answers.
“I think pupils may have used this method to vent their frustration because they thought it was the government that operated the exam,” Wong said.
The two-day assessment among third-year secondary school pupils started on Tuesday.
The exam, which tests pupils’ Chinese, maths and English skills, has been a controversy itself because of increasing criticism from parents and teachers that it leads to mounting homework and drilling exercises.
The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (EAA), a semi-public, self-financing body, runs the exam.
Wong said among 14 school-affiliated members on the committee, more than half said pupils at their schools had not taken the exam properly, although the members did not count how many pupils.
More pupils taking TSA exams, but stress levels among children are down
Some handed in empty sheets, Wong said, others wrote unrelated words, drew crosses or chose all the options in multiple-choice questions. Other pupils defaced the barcode labels on answer sheets.
“There has not been any group publicly calling for a protest through the TSA, so it’s very likely pupils circulated such information spontaneously in private groups,” Wong said. “I was quite surprised by that.”
He said he was concerned the exam, which aimed to provide a benchmark on teaching sufficiency in basic subjects, would yield inaccurate results this year.
Schools would not punish pupils, he said, because the EAA, in a guideline for handling misbehaviour during assessment, did not mention any punishment for spoiling papers.
Over the past few days, a message about a “TSA non-cooperative movement” was circulated on the messaging app Telegram that is popular among anti-extradition bill protesters for its security.
TSA or no, Hong Kong school pressures to remain
In the message, candidates were encouraged to hand in empty sheets, deface the barcode, vandalise their sheets, leave anti-extradition bill messages or write petition letters against the bill.
An estimated 2 million people took to the streets last Sunday to oppose the extradition bill, following Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s decision on Saturday to put the planned amendment on hold.
Protesters demanded she retract the plan altogether and denounced what they called a heavy-handed approach by police to last week’s protests.
The widely criticised bill would allow fugitives to be sent from Hong Kong to jurisdictions which do not already have existing extradition agreements with the city, including mainland China.
On Tuesday, Lam offered her first public apology over the government’s handling of the issue, but still refused to officially withdraw the bill, denounce police brutality or step down.
