In this file photo dated April 22, 2022, candidates take the English exam at Cognitio College (Kowloon) as the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination kicks off. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Next March 110 secondary six Hong Kong pupils will become the first students from the city to take their college entrance exam in the Chinese mainland, after the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority approved two schools in Shenzhen and Guangzhou as exam venues.
On Tuesday, HKEAA said Shenzhen Hong Kong Pui Kiu College Longhua Xinyi School and Affiliated School of JNU for Hong Kong and Macao Students will be the first two mainland assessment centers for the Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (DSE) — the university entrance exam in Hong Kong.
The pilot move may see more designated examination centers in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as the authority is also considering two more applications to become eligible exam centers by mainland schools for children of Hong Kong residents.
A HKEAA spokesperson on Tuesday said that the authority will conduct a further review after the pilot run at the two schools and decide whether to include more schools.
Before the new arrangement, all students aspiring to take the DSE had to travel to Hong Kong as private candidates, which caused difficulties during the pandemic when cross-boundary travels were restricted.
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The invigilators and the supervisors of the exam centers, who are mainly teachers or retired teachers from Hong Kong secondary schools, will be sent from Hong Kong after selection
Eligible students from these two schools will take a 10-day written examination set by HKEAA. The new arrangement for the cross-border examination centers is only for Hong Kong and Macao students of the participating schools, rather than candidates from the mainland or other regions. Also students will need to return to Hong Kong to take the oral test as it entails group discussions, involving students from different schools.
The 110 students will also need to arrange their own accommodation for the oral test day, just like other private candidates wishing to take the test.
The invigilators and the supervisors of the exam centers, who are mainly teachers or retired teachers from Hong Kong secondary schools, will be sent from Hong Kong after selection.
Wei Xiangdong, secretary-general of HKEAA, told a radio program on Wednesday that the authority has been gearing up to establish assessment centers on the mainland by communicating with different departments, inspecting the venues and conducting rehearsals.
It was not until last month when a full dress rehearsal was successfully conducted and security and confidentiality also reached required the standards, that the education authorities of the two places decided to authorize the examination centers on mainland, Wei said.
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Wei pointed out that participating schools are required to ensure the security of the examination paper, standard lighting and sound, that nobody can see into the examination room from outside, and that there is dedicated channel and GPS tracking for the delivery of exam papers.
