The Education Bureau is asking schools to focus on pupils’ mental health. Photo: Dickson LeeHong Kong authorities have criticised schools that insist on requiring Primary One pupils, some as young as 5 years old, to sit exams in their first semester.
The Education Bureau has urged schools to avoid placing unnecessary pressure on children and shift focus to improving pupils’ mental health. The bureau praised some schools for implementing continuous assessment instead of examinations and arranging “no homework days” to reduce academic pressure.
According to the annual inspection report, a few schools still use written assessments for tests and examinations in the first semester of Primary One. Some still require pupils in senior grades in both primary and secondary schools to make up classes regularly outside school days.
“The situation requires attention,” the bureau said.
The bureau called on those institutions to review their school-based assessments, assignment policies and supplementary lesson arrangements as soon as possible – to avoid unnecessary learning pressure on students.
Schools must systematically plan and implement measures to promote students’ physical and mental health and holistic development, it said.
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The government has previously suggested that schools replace tests and examinations with varied assessments in the first semester of Primary One, stated in the “Primary Education Curriculum Guides” published in 2002.
The bureau had argued that the move would give students more time to adapt to new learning models, reducing worries among children and parents.
The latest report also urged school operators to avoid “meaningless” repetitive teaching methods and supplementary lessons. Students should be able to “learn effectively and autonomously, and make good use of free time to explore their interests, play games, read, rest and relax”.
Student mental health has been under the spotlight after 32 children in primary and secondary schools died in suspected suicides in 2023, the highest number in five years.
Education sector lawmaker Chu Kwok-keung said it was optional for schools to skip the written exam for Primary One students, suggesting some might find it necessary to keep the traditional assessment method.
“Some schools may worry about the impact of scrapping tests on students’ academic performance. Some parents might not even like the cancellation,” said Chu, a primary school principal.
He said not every school positioned itself as a “happy school”, and some might find it more effective to boost students’ performance by the traditional assessment.
Chu said authorities should give the sector a transition period to phase out the written exam.
“After all, the bureau’s earlier suggestion is in the form of guidance; schools have the right to choose to follow or not,” he said.