Hong Kong Education Secretary Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said on Monday the government will strive to hold the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination on April 22 as scheduled, but with the exam duration to be shortened from one month to three weeks.

Yeung said at a news briefing that in light of the changing COVID-19 situation, the detailed arrangement of the exam — expected to be taken by over 50,000 students — will be announced in early April.

The government will also consider postponing the exam to May or June, depending on the severity of the pandemic situation, Yeung said. In the worst-case senario, the government will adopt an assessment mechanism in place of the HKDSE, he added.

The government has earmarked HK$20 million ($2.56 million) for the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority for an online grading system and to buy protective gear, including rapid antigen test kits, for HKDSE students and education employees who will be conducting the exam.

Yeung also said all school campuses should be closed no later than March 17 and remain closed until the end of the Easter holiday. Classes for kindergartens and primary schools will resume afterward, and the secondary schools will resume their classes after the HKDSE.

This semester will continue until Aug 2 at the earliest, and the 2022-23 academic year is still scheduled to start on Sept 1, he said.

Yeung said the four-week classes between March and April will be rescheduled to August, with the hope that face-to-face classes can be resumed by then.

He added that during the mass virus testing, schools that will be used as testing centers should allow only necessary employees to return to campus.

Yeung said that the government will provide a total one-time subsidy of HK$62 million for the affected schools. Each school will receive HK$15,000 to HK$37,500 to purchase anti-pandemic items.

With adequate pandemic prevention controls, some schools can also arrange for HKDSE students to return for a short period of time to complete necessary scoring and assessment tasks.