INAUGURAL TEST ON COUNTRY AND ITS SECURITY

45,000 students sit DSE exam to evaluate their knowledge of nation’s development, drawing mixed reviews from pupils and educators

More than 45,000 students have taken the first university exam for the citizen and social development subject, which focuses on testing their knowledge about the nation’s security and development.

Teachers said yesterday’s test was vastly different in terms of the demands it placed on students compared with the controversial liberal studies exam it replaced.

Unlike the previous curriculum that encouraged students to express their own opinions or consider multiple perspectives, the revamped subject mainly requires candidates to elaborate on source text material.

“It is no longer about making judgments about something, but about utilising knowledge,” said Liu Tin-yan, a former tutor of liberal studies. She noted that in the past, the liberal studies test contained comparative questions with clear stances that required detailed explanations from students. But such questions were not in this year’s paper, said the educator, who teaches citizen and social development at a Tsuen Wan school.

During the two-hour exam, students were asked to explain the importance of education in enhancing China’s comprehensive national power and how national security education activities strengthened understanding of the country. It also asked how mainland study tours cultivated a sense of national identity.

Candidates were required to refer to media reports about the 20th National Congress, Ministry of Education data and the white paper on “China’s comprehensive well-off society”.

Multiple-choice questions tested students’ knowledge of the National Anthem Ordinance and Basic Law, while another required them to identify which city among Foshan, Quanzhou and Zhaoqing was part of the Greater Bay Area.

Unlike the seven-level grading system of the Diploma of Secondary Education, the revamped subject has two grades: “attained” and “not attained.”

Wong Chung-wai, vice-principal of Concordia Lutheran School (North Point), said the new exam was less challenging than the liberal studies test. He added the change was in line with the principle of the revamped subject.

“In the past, there were more challenging questions with a higher standard,” he said. “However, now that the assessment is simplified to ‘attained’ or ‘not attained’, the standard is evidently lower.”

Both educators said they anticipated that most of the exam would revolve around the topic of China.

Li Chun-kit, a DSE student from HKTA Tang Hin Memorial Secondary School, said the exam did not engage a perspective of critical thinking and placed less emphasis on comparing negative aspects of a particular issue.

The test was also a bit harder than he expected, but he was optimistic about his performance.

“The longer questions ... required me to apply my own knowledge because the data files provided were not particularly helpful,” he said.

He recommended that future candidates stay up to date on news related to Hong Kong and the mainland, and educate themselves beyond using textbooks.

“I found the subject quite interesting overall because it covers a wide variety of topics,” he said.

The DSE exams will end on May 4, with results scheduled to be released on July 17.

In the past, there were more challenging questions with a higher standard WONG CHUNG-WAI, VICE-PRINCIPAL