The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority issued a circular to schools yesterday announcing the streamlined arrangement in response to the pandemic which has disrupted students' learning.

It will be fourth consecutive year without the oral exam, as last year's Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination was also canceled due to the pandemic.

The streamlined arrangement will free up more learning time and provide more flexibility for students taking the DSE in 2023, the HKEAA explained.

The weight of the Chinese Language school-based assessment will increase from 20 percent to 24 percent in 2023, while the value of the three written papers will increase from 66 percent to 76 percent.

The Liberal Studies' school-based assessment - the Independent Enquiry Study - is canceled for next year as well.

The weight of the Liberal Studies data-response questions paper has gone up from 50 percent to 62 percent, while the second paper for extended-response questions has been raised from 30 to 38 percent.

A secondary five student who will be taking his exam in 2023 said canceling the Chinese speaking exam is good news for him as he was not confident about it, while another student said that taking it would have helped her score better.

Liberal Studies teacher Lo Kit-ling said that although teachers do not have enough time to teach, she worries that the cancellations would bring disadvantages to students.

The Citizenship and Social Development subject will replace Liberal Studies in the 2024 DSE. Lo said it is unfortunate that the new arrangement will mark an early end for the Independent Enquiry Study.