Hong Kong DSE 2023: ethnic minority, special needs pupils look to the future after earning university places
- Pupils from ethnic minority groups celebrate good news after university entrance exams and hope hard work can trump discrimination
- University sports scheme also helps students with special needs to pursue further studies and lay foundations for life outside athletics
The 19-year-old was among 48,762 candidates who sat the exams between April 21 and May 18. A day before she received her results, the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority said four students had obtained a perfect 5** across all seven subjects.
Singculan left the Philippines to live in Hong Kong in 2019 and joined the Hong Kong Taoist Association The Yuen Yuen Institute No 3 Secondary School as a Form Three pupil with no knowledge of Chinese.
She had just one year after arriving in the city before taking her GCSE Chinese exam to waive taking a DSE one further down the line.
Non-Chinese speaking students are allowed to sit the paper if they have learned a standardised form of the language for less than six years at primary and secondary levels.
Singculan said she would use spare time during commutes, school breaks and just before bedtime to memorise Chinese characters using home-made flashcards. She also scribbled them over and over again while at school.
