Letters | Why Hong Kong should offer cash handouts to non-local students and ease immigration rules

Granting a partial refund on tuition fees, to make up for class disruption due to the protests and coronavirus outbreak, is a good suggestion, but would not go far enough
Non-local students would also need to stay on longer to find a job amid a recession

Coronavirus pandemic

Letters

Published: 7:30am, 9 Apr 2020

Why you can trust SCMP

We refer to the March 17 letter from Mengyuan Li and Zheqi Yan, calling for partial tuition fee refunds on behalf of self-financed master’s students, who lost a significant amount of time on campus due to the extradition bill protests and the coronavirus outbreak.

In addition to financial compensation from the universities, we believe the Hong Kong government should also do more to help non-local university students with cash handouts and more flexible immigration arrangements.

As your correspondent Marina Sáenz rightly points out (“Hong Kong budget: why non-permanent residents deserve the HK$10,000 handout too”, March 2), non-local students should also be given HK$10,000. Many of us were forced to leave the city during the protests and had to pay rent for unoccupied flats. Some of us were also stranded on the mainland amid the coronavirus crisis.

But it’s not just about financial relief. The cash handout scheme, which was recently extended to cover some non-permanent residents, should include all contributing members of Hong Kong society. We should be treated like everyone else in this difficult time.

Immigration rules should also be relaxed. Under the current arrangements, those who apply to stay and work in Hong Kong within six months of graduation may spend 12 months here to look for a job as “non-local fresh graduates”. If it is after six months, we have to secure an offer of employment in Hong Kong before coming back as “returning non-local graduates”.

Given the challenges of finding employment now amid an economic recession caused by the protests and the coronavirus outbreak, the government should allow us to retain the status of non-local fresh graduates for at least 18 months, so we can remain in the city for a longer period of time and secure a job when the economy recovers.

Ying Dong, Tingting Pan, master’s students, Language Studies, Baptist University

Three scenarios for a DSE cancellation

In mid-March, the Education Bureau announced the postponement of the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams until April 24. But, with the cases of Covid-19 infections still rising, it is looking less likely that the DSE exam is going to take place in three weeks.

So, what could be the contingency plan?

One, further postpone the exams until May. All practical and oral exams will be cancelled. Only written exams will be held. The release of the results will be delayed to August, with the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (Jupas) results to be released in September. Colleges and universities will also postpone the start of the new academic year until October.

Two, cancel the exams this year and register all candidates for the DSE next year. They will resit all the subjects from the last academic year, and they will compete with the new cohort of Secondary Six students in the upcoming DSE exams.

Three, cancel the exams this year and grade all candidates based on their performance in school and the school-based assessments they submitted for the DSE this year. If they are not satisfied with the results they get, they can appeal to the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority for further assessment.

Whatever happens eventually, I urge all DSE candidates to stay positive and healthy. Be prepared, and everything will be fine. Good luck!

H.L. Yung, Tuen Mun

Uncertainty leaves DSE students feeling helpless

The single-day high of 65 cases of infection recorded on March 27 prompted the Hong Kong government to enact more measures and restrictions to curb the spread. Amid the worry, let’s not forget our students’ woes.

Boxes of protective face masks are prepared for use by DSE candidates on March 5, at the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority office in San Po Kong. Photo: May Tse

Diploma of Secondary Education students are due to take their exams in just under three weeks – if they go ahead. They have toiled for years to prepare for the most important exam in their lives, but are now helpless in the face of such uncertainty. Every additional case of infection makes it more likely for the exam to be postponed again.

If the exams do go ahead, all precautions must be taken, such as the mandatory wearing of masks and having wider spaces between the desks.

The government must also be aware that its policies, although quick by international standards, have not been as decisive as they could have been, to protect the core interests of Hong Kong residents and the majority of local students.

Returning students from Europe and the US flooded into Hong Kong due to school closures and cancellation of their exams, and brought with them a number of new Covid-19 cases. The government must be aware that the resultant delays will affect less-well-off students more than the privileged who have access to more resources to help them tide over difficult times.

Angus Lam, Tai Po

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