DSE Exams Delayed, Streamlined For 2021

Exam authorities have delayed the start of next year's Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams in light of the class suspensions caused by Covid-19.

Among the other changes announced by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) on Tuesday are a shorter timetable and simplifying the way school-based work will be assessed.

The exams, which traditionally starts in early April, will begin on April 23, 2021 and last till May 17.

That represents a timetable of three-and-a-half weeks, down from the usual four-and-a-half weeks.

The HKEAA also announced that the Chinese and English oral exams will be scrapped for the second straight year, and two Chinese compulsory model essays, which were already tested this year, will be removed from the Chinese reading exam. The number of essays to be tested will be down to 10.

In addition, the school-based assessment of nine subjects have been cancelled and five others streamlined.

When asked if this is fair to students who've already finished working on the assessment, HKEAA Secretary-General So Kwok-sang said it's not possible to cater for every student and school.

"So what we are now proposing here is trying to strike a balance," he said.

"For some part of the school-based assessments that most students should have completed, we try to recognise them, and then allocated the certain portion of the school-based marks to those students. For those who still need some time to complete, we made a tough decision to cancel this part."

So said all these changes are one-off and for next year alone.