Hong Kong school principals call for special support for DSE students affected by coronavirus outbreak
- Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary School urges exam authorities to allow students in infected households to sit assessments at special centres
- City leaders pushes for vaccination drive among young children, but some primary school and kindergarten heads says parents are worried about side effects
Hong Kong secondary school heads have called for special arrangements for students sitting university entrance exams who have been affected by the recent Covid-19 outbreak as the city leader announced assessments would be scheduled for late April.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced on Monday face-to-face classes would resume as early as April 19, beginning with primary and international schools as well as kindergartens.
Members of the education sector have cautiously welcomed plans to resume in-person learning, while others have said they were worried about a possible outbreak among younger students.
Meanwhile, secondary schools, which will act as Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exam centres, will resume in-person classes after core subjects assessments have been completed.
Lam said DSE exams would begin as scheduled on April 22. Authorities announced earlier that candidates would need to test negative for Covid-19, with those who were infected or under isolation orders not allowed to sit the assessments.
But the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary School (HKAHSS) urged the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) in a letter on the same day to provide special arrangements for candidates who were affected by the local epidemic.
