Examinations
2.19 The Government acknowledges that the existing Secondary School Entrance Examination should be phased out as soon as it is no longer required for its present purpose of determining whether a child should receive subsidized secondary education. This will be possible as soon as the target of 100% provision of junior secondary places (paragraph 2.2) is achieved. Thus, if the programme for these places, as outlined in this Paper, is carried out without delay, the Secondary School Entrance Examination would be set for the last time in May 1978.
2.20 A new public examination, the Hong Kong Junior Certificate of Education, will be introduced at the end of the junior secondary school course, to serve two functions. Firstly, it will provide evidence that a pupil has satisfactorily completed his education to Form III standard, which should assist him in securing employment if he leaves school at this stage. Secondly, it will serve as the means of selection for those who wish to continue their studies beyond Form III. The examina- tion will be based on the common teaching syllabus for the junior secondary school course and will not have a special syllabus of its own.
2.21 It would make unreasonable demands on a pupil to require him to take both the Secondary School Entrance Examination and the Hong Kong Junior Certificate of Education. For this reason, the Hong Kong Junior Certificate of Education will only be introduced after the Secondary School Entrance Examination has been abolished. The Education Department, in consultation with school authorities, will devise measures to bridge the gap between the phasing out of the Secondary School Entrance Examination and the introduction of the Hong Kong Junior Certificate of Education. Consultation will also be required with school authorities on the phasing out of those selection procedures which are associated with the Secondary School Entrance Examination; on the introduction of new selection arrangements for junior secondary courses on an area basis, as the number of places available approaches the 100% provision target; and on the introduction of the new examination itself.
2.22 The present Hong Kong Certificate of Education will continue to be taken by pupils completing Form V of senior secondary schools. It will also be used as the basis for selection for entry to Form VI. Selection of students for Form VI will continue to be made by school
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