DSE Exams Kick Off Without Major Snags

The first day of the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams went off without major glitches on Friday.

Around 3,300 visual arts candidates took the first of the examinations, which have been delayed for over a month due to the coronavirus outbreak.

At one point there were doubts over whether these university entrance tests could happen at all because of the outbreak.

Strict measures were in place as students arrived for the tests. All candidates were given temperature checks, made to sign a health declaration form and sanitise their hands before being allowed into the exam venues.

At a school in Mid-Levels, candidates were seen wiping their desks and hands before the start of the exam.

The school's principal revealed that 10 extra classrooms have been reserved for the DSE exams this year to ensure that each desk is 1.8 metres apart.

He said everything was smooth on the first day and described the visual arts exam as a good trial-run for next week, when tens of thousands of students are expected to sit DSE assessments of core subjects.