In the coming year, the F.6 students will be taking part in the examination that nobody has ever experienced of. The all-new HKDSE is the so-called “improved” educational policy set by the government. It is meant to be reducing the burden of the senior form students, by cutting the number of public exams they have to attend from two to one. However, this mysterious examination has been bringing about uncertainties and putting up immense pressure on both the teachers and students.
Originally, senior form students have to take two exams during F.5 and F.7, which was causing great discontent among students. Nonetheless, the new policy seems to be ineffective in easing the students’ pressure. Although students are now only obliged to take one public exam instead of two, problems arise when the students realize that their life is not made any easier. This policy has its own disadvantages, let alone the disaster it has caused to those being the first bunch of students participating in the HKDSE.
Students in the past could decide what subjects they would like to study after finishing their F.5. In other words, they were given the chance to choose the subjects they want to study. This is especially useful for those who believed that they had chosen the wrong ones in the previous two years. Pathetically, in the new policy, students pick their desired subjects in F.4 and have to stick to them until they graduate in F.6. What if they realize they are not doing well in the subjects? There is nothing they can do to remedy the situation. Another thing is that students who had unsatisfactory results in the HKCEE could have a second try in the HKALE in an attempt to strive for the best and make improvement gaining their past experience in the F.5 public exam. Are HKDSE candidates given this chance? No. They have only one shot to show off their skills. If they fail to do so, their dreams of being promoted to university would be crushed.
To sum up, I think the government should give clear and precise instructions to help the undergraduates, so that they do not need to panic and worry about the new exam.