Apr 19, 2023, Standard: Record number of special needs students apply to sit uni entry exams https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news/section/4/251688/Record-number-of-special-needs-students-apply-to-sit-uni-entry-exams
A record number of 4,100 students with special education needs have applied for special arrangements during the university entrance exam this year, of which the first paper for English Language will begin on Friday.
As some 50,000 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education exam candidates will take the English reading and writing papers on Friday morning, they should brace for rainy weather as the Observatory warned of a trough of low pressure to bring showers and occasional thunderstorms to the city in the next few days.
Applications for special examination arrangements were three times more than that of the first DSE in 2012. Over 1,700 students reported having special learning disabilities including autism spectrum disorder or hyperactivity.
Applicants must present medical certificates and the Education Bureau will make on a case-by-case basis arrangements such as providing extra hours, special examination venues or assistive devices.
A student with dyslexia and hyperactivity disorder was approved to have additional exam time of 15 to 30 minutes for all written tests and use phonetic text conversion software for subjects that need a lot of writing.
The student said he sometimes could not turn his thoughts into organized words and only concentrate for one hour of the 90-minute test period….
