Twenty-four students from 15 schools have scored perfect marks in Hong Kong’s university entrance exams, up from 17 last year, with 36.8 per cent of day-school candidates meeting the minimum admission requirement.
The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority released the results of the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) on Tuesday.
Most DSE subjects are graded on a seven-level scale from Level 1 to Level 5**, with Level 5 subdivided into 5, 5* and 5**.
This year, a record 14 boys and 10 girls attained Level 5** in six subjects, along with an “Attained” result in Citizenship and Social Development.
Among them, six boys and five girls were “super top scorers”, having also achieved 5** in the extended mathematics module.
Level 5** is awarded to the top 10 per cent of candidates who achieve Level 5 or above, followed by Level 5* for the next 30 per cent, and Level 5 for the remainder.
A total of 15,973 eligible day-school candidates – 36.8 per cent of about 43,534 students – met the “332A33” minimum entrance requirement for the city’s eight public universities, compared with 16,447 candidates, or 38.6 per cent of about 42,589 students, last year.
Professor Wei Xiangdong, the authority’s secretary general, said that although the proportion of students meeting the requirement had slightly decreased, it remained above the five-year average.
“It is a slight decrease from the previous year, yet still above the average of about 36.5 per cent recorded over the past five years,” he said.
The requirement includes at least Level 3 in Chinese and English, Level 2 in mathematics, an “Attained” grade in Citizenship and Social Development, and Level 3 in two elective subjects.
Two publicly funded universities require only Level 2 in both electives.
But meeting the minimum requirement does not guarantee admission to a publicly funded undergraduate programme. Last year, about 6,000 eligible students failed to secure a place.
Previous figures suggest around 12,000 of the 15,000 subsidised university places are taken up by DSE candidates applying through the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (Jupas).
Wei urged students to remain positive when receiving their results.
“I encourage all candidates to stay positive and optimistic as they receive their results, reflect on their performance and plan their next steps in line with their aspirations,” he said.
“Life is a long journey with endless possibilities. With perseverance and resilience, you can shape your own future.”
