DSE pupils need best support in learning and mental health amid exams and the pandemic
I am writing in response to the article “Hong Kong students’ summer holiday to start on March 7, but international schools, kindergartens granted exceptions” (February 28). As a local secondary school teacher, I cannot imagine myself to be one of those unfortunate candidates in this cohort, dragged into such a mess thanks to the authorities’ incapability of epidemic control during the past few months.
The Diploma of Secondary Education is not solely a benchmark for university admission, but the examination itself is a test of endurance and stress management. When all subjects are crammed into three weeks’ time and many popular electives are scheduled in the second week, students barely have enough time to take a short break between subjects and stay on track.
This is to say nothing of their concern about the possibility of testing positive for Covid-19 and therefore being banned from the exam. Yet if this happens, all their efforts will go up in smoke and they must wait, and revise of course, for another year.
I have heard some adults leaving reckless comments such as, “Come on, you should start preparation early. You should learn to be more flexible.” It seems they might have forgotten how it used to feel when they were 17 or so.
It is unjust to see the Education Bureau’s proposal only from an adult’s point of view. In today’s Hong Kong, where success is often associated with one’s academic achievements, many secondary students only have one goal in mind: to excel in public examinations to help secure a diploma or degree at a tertiary institution.
Are these young people supposed to be trained to anticipate and adapt to all these changes right away? They are humans, not robots.
Combined with the ever-changing conditions around the world, high achievers could find the situation stressful and disturbing, let alone students from less-advantaged backgrounds. Businesses suffer, old people suffer, students suffer – basically everyone in society suffers.
Being an educator in Hong Kong is never easy as one always has to overcome doubts and challenges. Despite all these uncertainties, we have to remind ourselves to just give students our best support in learning and mental health however we can. After all, it is one of the few things we can offer at this critical time.
Justin Chan, Chai Wan