- Examination authority has rehearsed the procedure several times, monitored by security cameras
- Papers will be escorted across the border ahead of the exam date to prevent any delays caused by traffic or other unpredictable scenarios
Hong Kong’s examination authority says it will deliver university entrance test papers to mainland China under tight security. Photo: HandoutHong Kong’s examination authority will transfer test papers for the first batch of students taking the local university entrance exams in mainland China next week under tight security measures.
The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority said on Wednesday it had rehearsed transporting Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exam papers, safely locked and monitored by security cameras round the clock, to and from two centres on the mainland several times.
Chairman Samuel Yung Wing-ki said he personally inspected the entire transport process twice, adding staff conducted even more rehearsals to ensure operations ran smoothly on April 11, the first day of DSE exams on the mainland.
“The examination papers will be escorted by security vehicles across the border ahead of the exam date and locked in a room on campus, with tight security around the clock, to prevent any delays caused by traffic or other unpredictable scenarios,” he said.
Yung added that the board had formulated contingency plans for possible disruptions, while the examinations at the mainland centres would be invigilated by Hong Kong staff with more than a decade of experience.
Exam papers of pupils sitting the test on the mainland and in Hong Kong would be marked by the same group of teachers, he said.
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“This is to ensure that the standards, fairness and credibility of the examination are consistent with those at Hong Kong examination sites.”
About 110 pupils from the Shenzhen Hong Kong Pui Kiu College Longhua Xinyi School and the Affiliated School of JNU for Hong Kong & Macau Students will be the first to take their DSE examinations on the mainland on April 11.
In February, the board announced that it would allow some pupils to sit their university entrance exams on the mainland, a U-turn after security fears over the transport and storage of exam papers were resolved.
The city’s DSE exams will kick off next week, with the first core subject scheduled for April 11 and most of the elective subjects to be held from April 18.
Wei Xiangdong, secretary general of the authority, stressed that the DSE was a widely recognised certification by prestigious universities around the world.
“Citizenship and social development replacing the subject of liberal studies will have no impact on the DSE qualifications,” he said, dismissing concerns that universities might not recognise the new core subject.
The curriculum of the subject, which was introduced in September 2021 to replace liberal studies, focuses on national security, identity, lawfulness and patriotism.
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First introduced in 2009, liberal studies aimed to enhance senior secondary students’ social awareness and critical thinking skills. But the Education Bureau overhauled it early last year after the pro-Beijing camp blamed the subject for radicalising youth during the 2019 protests.
“For the time being, I have not come across any university that does not accept the DSE as a qualification for admission,” Wei said.
The board surveyed 150 secondary schools in the city recently and found that more than 300 DSE candidates this year had already received conditional offers from more than 100 institutions, including Oxford and Cambridge, using provisional results under the new syllabus.
Staff also reached out to the consulates in the city, including those of Germany and the Netherlands, which recently recognised the DSE to be comparable with the local secondary education diploma, making it more convenient for Hong Kong students to apply to Dutch institutions.