HK first CS subject exam ‘sets reassuring precedent’

With over 45,000 candidates registered to sit for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE)’s first exam of Citizenship and Social Development (CS) subject, replacing the previous controversial Liberal Studies subject, some representatives from the education sector told the Global Times on Thursday that the first CS subject exam sets a reassuring precedent for the future development of the subject.

Some students who sat for the exam were quoted in media reports as saying that the level of difficulty was moderate, and the test covered a wide range of topics.

CS has gradually been introduced as a core subject in Hong Kong high schools since the 2021-2022 academic year, replacing Liberal Studies, according to media reports. The subject’s first related examination was held on Tuesday.

In this first exam paper, over twothirds of the questions were related to topics such as national education and national security.

After the exam, many students were visibly relieved, feeling that regular class attendance and the general national curriculum had prepared them well to tackle the questions.

At the exam center in Concordia Lutheran School in North Point, a student named Tsang commented that the exam mainly required reading comprehension, with only a few harder questions necessitating memorization.

Wong Chung Wai, vice principal of the school and CS subject teacher said that one of the aims of the subject is to enhance students’ national identity. He believes that the exam’s level of difficulty was moderate and anticipates that the pass rate for students will exceed 90 percent.

Lawmaker Tang Fei, also the vicechairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, told the Global Times on Thursday that the new subject allows Hong Kong students to understand China’s contemporary development and the historical context of Hong Kong issues more systematically, and has raised their awareness of matters related to national security.