Education Chief Expects Smooth Start To DSE Exams

The Education Secretary Kevin Yeung says he's confident of a smooth start to the Diploma of Secondary Education school leaving exams next week, adding that it was not good for the mental well-being of candidates to further delay the exam.

He told a radio programme that the exams authority had inspected schools and that 90 percent were allowing candidates to sit 1.8 metres apart. All exam venues have to maintain a safe distance between seats because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Yeung said he thought candidates would fill out health declaration forms honestly before sitting the exams, but that authorities would follow up if any were found to be untrue.

Yeung added that the government hadn't yet decided when classes would resume but that any decision would be announced two-to-three weeks beforehand so schools could prepare. He said he expected senior secondary school students would be the first to return but that lessons would only be for half a day to prevent them gathering for lunch.

The education chief also said it was too early to say whether classes would be suspended until September, as there were still three months to go before this school year ended.