HONG KONG: Tomorrow is the big day for students who wrote this year's Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE), but about one in every ten students who wrote the exam is completely unaware that results are due.

A poll of 757 students awaiting release of the exam results found that 10.2 percent mistakenly believe their results come out today. Then there are the 2.5 percent that are paragons of disinterestedness, having no clue when the results will be out.

The survey was carried out between July 6 and 30 by the Federation of Youth Groups. "Some students just don't care," said Pang Shuk-han, the unit-in-charge of a helpline at the agency. "They wait until the last minute to make preparations."

Hsu Siu-man, the group's supervisor, said the findings show that some students have not been well prepared for the release of the exam results.

"They sometimes rely too much on others. They think they will be flooded with information. Some expect teachers will tell them what to do when they get the result slips. Some think that their classmates will get grades similar to them, so they can simply follow those who have already prepared and go (to other schools) together. They may neglect the need to plan ahead for themselves," she said.

She suggested students anticipate their scores and start seeking placements the same day.

The poll also found that 43.1 percent of interviewees mistakenly believed day-school students can apply to other schools for Form Six places on Wednesday morning.

Some 51.5 percent of the students have the misconception that they must attain level two or above in this year's Chinese Language and English Language exams in order to apply for Form Six school places, the findings showed.

But the truth is that students can re-take the language exams next year. They will still be eligible to sit the Advanced Level Examination in 2011 if they can attain level two or above in Chinese Language and English Language in HKCEE by the end of August next year.

Speaking on a radio program to lift the morale of anxious students waiting for results, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen encouraged teens to keep confidence in themselves and remain persevering.

He said students can share their problems with peers, parents, teachers and social workers when they run into trouble and he urged them not to give up in the face of difficulties.

The Education Bureau set up a hotline yesterday to answer enquiries concerning Form Six admission procedures. Students can call 3590 3100 by August 12.

(HK Edition 08/04/2009 page1)