Hong Kong’s university entrance exam remained internationally recognised despite the fact that liberal studies had been replaced with citizenship as a core subject, authorities have said.
The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE), the city’s university entry exam, is set to begin next week. This year will be the first in which students are tested on Citizenship and Social Development in place of Liberal Studies, which authorities axed in 2021, a year after Beijing imposed a national security law on the city.
The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) on Wednesday said a survey conducted last month showed that some 300 DSE candidates had already received conditional offers from around 100 universities outside of Hong Kong.
The findings suggested that the subject change “had absolutely no impact” on overseas’ universities recognition of DSE, said Samuel Yung, chairperson of the HKEAA.
“We haven’t heard a single university say it would not accept the DSE qualification,” Wei Xiangdong, the secretary general of the HKEAA, told reporters in Cantonese.
Wei added that over 600 overseas higher education institutions accepted the DSE qualification and published their admission requirements for DSE candidates on HKEAA’s website.
Hong Kong in 2021 overhauled Liberal Studies as Citizenship and Social Development, introducing more China-related content. The move came after then-chief executive Carrie Lam and some pro-Beijing politicians accused the subject of fuelling the pro-democracy protests and unrest in 2019.
This year’s DSE will also see exam venues set up in mainland China for the first time, with about 110 candidates expected to complete their papers in two schools for Hong Kong children in Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
Yung said the exam papers would arrive in China under the supervision of security personnel, and that the logistical process would be as rigorous as it was in Hong Kong.
“From the time when the papers leave HKEAA… to the day of the exam, and then back to Hong Kong for grading, the whole process will have contingency plans,” he said. “We hope the whole standard, fairness, and credibility will be the same [as in Hong Kong].”
About 50,800 candidates have signed up for DSE this year, about the same number as last year, according to figures released by the HKEAA.
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