Hong Kong’s education authorities plan to pilot an “internationally benchmarked” version of the city’s university entrance exam. This initiative will allow foreign students to apply for admission to higher education institutions locally and in mainland China.
They revealed that technical explorations and studies with relevant bodies on developing the international version of the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exam were under way.
Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said in a written reply to the Legislative Council on Wednesday the global version would help overseas students or ones from Hong Kong residing abroad to get into tertiary institutions on the mainland and in the city.
“The Education Bureau’s long-term goal is to establish an internationally benchmarked public examination of its kind that ‘facilitates access for foreign students to higher education institutions both on the mainland and in Hong Kong,” she said.
“Technical explorations and studies on relevant arrangements are under way.”
She added the international version would potentially be administered outside Hong Kong.
“Given the numerous aspects and conditions involved, relevant work presents considerable challenges and must be advanced carefully, which includes launching the initiative on a pilot basis to gather data and assess the situation,” she said.
According to education authorities, more than 2,100 non-local higher education institutions have listed their general admission requirements based on DSE results.
Among them, 165 mainland higher education institutions have admitted Hong Kong students based on the results.
Last August, Choi told the South China Morning Post one of the reasons for developing an international version of the DSE was so mainland students could sit the Chinese-language paper of the test and use the qualification to apply to overseas and local universities, which other international exams could not offer.
She said at the time that authorities might develop an electronic assessment system for the test instead of a written format.
The government is working to turn the city into an international hub for education, creating the “Study in Hong Kong” brand.
