The Education Bureau today announced that owing to the COVID-19 epidemic situation, all kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools and tutorial schools will continue the suspension of face-to-face classes and on-campus activities until March 6.

Both the Primary 6 (P6) second term internal assessment for the Central Allocation under Secondary School Places Allocation 2022 and the Territory-wide System Assessment 2022 will also be suspended.

In a press statement, the bureau said: “During the suspension period, schools, in principle, should not arrange students to return to schools for any activities. Schools should remain open during school days to look after those students who need to return to schools because of a lack of carers to take care of them at home.

“Nonetheless, in view that many districts are affected by the epidemic and operations under restriction-testing declarations and compulsory testing notices, and that the manpower of the schools concerned may be affected and it is not suitable for their students to go out and return to schools, we appeal to parents to pay attention to the situation of respective districts and keep close communication with schools.

“If schools, after careful deliberation, consider that there are genuine needs to arrange the class level of students sitting for public examinations this year to return to schools for essential learning or assessment activities for no more than half a day, schools should put in place various strict anti-epidemic measures.”

Furthermore, in the light of the enforcement of the vaccine pass arrangement at schools starting from February 24, all school staff, people providing on-campus services and visitors have to be vaccinated in order to be allowed to enter the school premises, the bureau reminded.

With the minimum age for receiving the Sinovac vaccine lowered to three years old form tomorrow onwards, the Government will discuss with the school sector the jab arrangements for young children. Meanwhile, parents and schools are urged to arrange eligible students to get vaccinated as early as possible, the bureau added.

Separately, upon careful consideration, the bureau said it has decided that schools need not conduct the P6 second term internal assessment for the Central Allocation under Secondary School Places Allocation this year.

Explaining the move, the bureau said that on one hand, under the extended class suspension, schools would not be able to arrange the internal assessment shortly; on the other hand, in order not to affect school choice-making and the related work of the central allocation, the assessment could not be deferred for long.

Following the arrangement in 2020, under which the P6 second term internal assessment was also cancelled due to the epidemic, the allocation band of the affected Primary 6 students will be determined by their internal assessment scores obtained at the end of P5 and the mid-year of P6, the bureau announced.

Additionally, the Territory-wide System Assessment 2022 will be frozen. The bureau will discuss with the Examinations & Assessment Authority how they could assist the school sector to understand the overall learning situation, and will communicate with the schools in a timely manner.