Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Penny's Bay ready for DSE exam takers

Six candidates will take the English reading and writing exams for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education at Penny's Bay isolation center as the three-week university entrance exams kick off today for about 50,000 candidates.
They include four Covid-infected students and two in quarantine.

The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority said around 60 invigilators equipped with protective gear have been trained to oversee exams in the facility.

The six students will take their exams in individual rooms with live video surveillance systems. They can ask the invigilators for help through the system, such as for supplementary answer sheets or to inform them that they have to go to the toilet.

All students must take rapid antigen tests before exams every morning. Director of public examinations Ricardo Mak King-sang reminded candidates to take a photo of their rapid test result, which should be negative to sit the exam.

Candidates should not skip the rapid test and go to exam venues directly as the exam centers will not be providing rapid test kits to students, Mak said.

If students test positive or become a close contact of a Covid patient, they must call the HKEAA at 3628-8860 before 6.30am to inform them if they will take the exam. If they decide to take the exam, they have to call 3693-4770 to book a designated Covid taxi to escort them to Penny's Bay.

Mak said it's better for candidates to take the rapid test earlier in the morning so that if they test positive, they can start packing their things for the exam as well as book a taxi for Penny's Bay.

Those living in buildings with confirmed cases can attend the exams by going to their assigned exam centers. St Joseph's College in Mid-Levels will have special seats to segregate candidates who test negative in the rapid test but are still waiting for their PCR test result to minimize the risk of cross-infection.

Candidates who show mild Covid symptoms will also be arranged to sit in those seats.

Ken Hui Keung-mau, head of a youth counselling hotline by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, reminded secondary six students to pack "quarantine bags" just in case they have to go to Penny's Bay.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor yesterday inspected an exam center at Clementi Secondary School in North Point, accompanied by Under Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin and HKEAA chairman Samuel Yung Wing-ki.

"Despite the fluctuating Covid epidemic situation and the myriad challenges brought about over the past two years or so, the government has been closely liaising and cooperating with the HKEAA and academic sector to make timely decisions to ensure the smooth conduct of the examination," Lam said.

She said the steady decline in cases has created the necessary conditions for the public exams to start today.

The Education Bureau has also allocated resources worth about HK$20 million to provide sufficient rapid test kits to DSE candidates through the HKEAA.

Meanwhile, heads of local universities sent their best wishes to DSE candidates in video messages.

They included Chinese University of Hong Kong president Rocky Tuan Sung-chi, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology president Shyy Wei, Lingnan University president Leonard Cheng Kwok-hon and Education University of Hong Kong president Stephen Cheung Yan-leung.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×