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Education Bureau
Government Secretariat, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region The People’s Republic of China
本局檔號 Our Ref.:(20) in EDB(SDCT)1/P-620 PT.2 電話 Telephone:
來函檔號 Your Ref.: 傳真 Fax Line:
28 February 2022
To: Supervisors / Principals of All Secondary Schools, Primary Schools, Special Schools, and Schools Offering Non-formal Curriculum
Dear Supervisor / Principal,
Arrangement of Special Vacation in 2021/22 School Year
Hong Kong's fifth wave of COVID-19 epidemic is very severe, with the number of confirmed cases hitting record high. The Government will act in a comprehensive and decisive way to achieve the target of dynamic zero infection.
The Chief Executive announced on 22 February 2022 that the Government will, during the critical period in the coming two to three months, take a series of thorough actions targeting at bringing the epidemic under control, which includes the launch of the Compulsory Universal Testing Scheme. We need to mobilise all resources and involve all sectors in our community to execute such a large- scale operation. The education sector is one of the important members of the community and we appeal for your support and participation.
To support this operation, we need a large number of testing centres. We also hope to minimize most of the activities in our society to reduce the chance of infection. As such, the Chief Executive has announced that the Government will adjust the summer vacation arrangement of all schools in the current school year by bringing forward the holidays from July / August to March / April so that resources from all sectors can be concentrated to achieve the target of dynamic zero infection. After the epidemic has subsided, students can return to a healthy campus with peace of mind and resume face-to-face classes. The relevant details of the arrangement are elaborated as follows:
Swapping of Vacation
The original summer vacation of schools will be brought forward from July / August to March / April (hereafter referred to as the special vacation). In principle, the special vacation will start from 7 March 2022, connecting the Easter Holiday, to the last day of the Easter holiday originally scheduled by individual schools. Considering the operational need of schools and noting that some schools might need more time to prepare for re-structuring the teaching schedule, arranging assignments, organising assessments and learning activities, redeploying manpower resources and re-assigning school administrative duties, flexibility is allowed for schools to start the special vacation not later than 17 March 2022. Prior to the commencement of the special vacation, schools should follow their original schedules of having online lessons and other modes of learning and teaching activities. During the special vacation, except some students who are taking part in non-local public examinations and need to go to school briefly for mandatory assessment sessions, other students should not go back to school (unless they are back for vaccination or testing. Please refer to the arrangements mentioned in later paragraphs).
If the epidemic has subsided and the situation allows, classes will be resumed after the end of the Easter holiday as originally scheduled by schools. We expect that primary schools may resume face-to-face classes first. For secondary schools, in order to ensure that the HKDSE examinations will proceed smoothly, face-to-face lessons will not be resumed earlier than the completion of the examinations of all HKDSE core subjects, i.e. not earlier than 29 April 2022.
In principle, the last school day in the current school year is 12 August 2022. Schools can conduct preparatory work for the new school year thereafter till the last day of current school year, i.e. 31 August 2022.
If schools start the special vacation later than 7 March 2022, the last
school day can be moved forward accordingly. The first school day of the 2022/23 school year will be 1 September 2022.
For schools being used as testing centres, other than the staff who are essential to the school operation, no other staff should be arranged to go back to school during the period. These schools should consider when to start the special vacation, and make appropriate arrangements prior to the special vacation, including conducting online lessons or other modes of teaching at suitable venues.
Administrative Arrangements
In principle, relevant arrangements made by schools in previous summer vacations are also applicable to the special vacation. For example, teachers may arrange additional lessons (such as make-up classes) and student support services during the special vacation according to the genuine needs of individual classes/levels, but all activities should be conducted online and should not be arranged on a whole school basis or involve the majority of levels. To make good use of the special holiday, schools may encourage students to employ appropriate online resources provided by the EDB and other organisations for self-learning or engage in online life-wide learning activities.
During the special vacation, unlike the time when online lessons are conducted, schools are not required to keep their campuses open. To reduce the risk of infection, parents should keep their children staying at home as far as possible during the special vacation and suspension of face-to-face classes. If individual parents, due to special circumstances, have a genuine need to send their children back to school, they should contact and liaise with the schools in advance for any possible assistance.
For the boarding sections of aided special schools under the EDB, those providing both five-day and seven-day boarding services would continue
to operate in accordance with their standing mode of operation to cater for the needs of boarders during the special vacation. For those solely providing five-day boarding services, their students should stay at home just like ordinary summer vacation during which the boarding sections would not open in principle. If individual parents have genuine needs to take their children to school due to special circumstances, they should contact and discuss with schools at their earliest convenience so that schools could render assistance as appropriate.
To avoid confusion, schools charging tuition fees are advised to follow the prevailing arrangement for collecting fees from parents, and changes are not required. Schools may apply to the EDB if there is a practical need to amend the number of instalments shown on the Fees Certificates.
Owing to the vacation adjustment, schools may be unable to fulfil the contracts signed with service providers or suppliers as planned, and some employment contracts may also need to be revised to meet the operational needs of schools. In addition, schools should study carefully and rationalise all the relevant administrative arrangements and details concerning student assessment, subject selection and promotion, admission, time-tabling, staff recruitment, contracts, benefits, paid annual leave, maintenance works, etc. Schools have to examine the various arrangements and the content of contracts as soon as possible, with a view to reaching agreement with service providers, suppliers, staff and other stakeholders following the general principles of the Code of Aid, the Employment Ordinance and other guidelines of the EDB as far as possible. After obtaining consent from the School Management Committee/Incorporated Management Committee, schools can adjust the arrangements/details of services to accommodate vacation adjustment, and keep parents informed of the relevant changes. In case there are problems in the implementation of the required details, the EDB will handle such cases in a flexible manner as far as possible.
Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) System
In view of the vacation adjustment, the work of the SSPA in the 2021/22 school year will be postponed. Schools are not required to arrange staff to return to schools to handle related work during March and April so that the school sector could make concerted efforts in fighting against the epidemic. Participating secondary schools’ submission of Successful/Reserve Lists for Discretionary Places (DP) and notification of parents of successful DP applicants are postponed to 3 and 4 May respectively. To enable parents, students and school staff to devote their full efforts to anti-epidemic work, we urge secondary schools to take into consideration the actual circumstances and decide whether the original DP interview arrangements would be maintained. Schools are not allowed to conduct face-to-face interviews on campus during the special vacation. Schools are also advised that interview is not mandatory in the selection procedure of students. Instead, the selection could be conducted through other means, e.g. referring to students’ past academic achievements or records of extra-curricular activities, etc.
Should there be any revisions to the admission procedures, criteria and weightings, the approval of the respective School Management Committee / Incorporated Management Committee should be obtained.
Schools should then announce on their school websites and notify parents concerned as soon as possible to ensure the selection process is conducted according to the principles of fairness, impartiality and openness.
The release of SSPA allocation results is postponed to 26 July and registration of Secondary 1 students is postponed to 28 and 29 July. The Pre-Secondary One Hong Kong Attainment Test is postponed to 2 August tentatively, and the EDB will keep in the view of the epidemic development and make necessary arrangements as and when appropriate.
The deadline for submission of Primary 5 second term internal assessment scores for SSPA is postponed to 12 August. In this connection, schools could make better arrangements for the related
internal assessment whereas students would have more ample time to get prepared for the assessment. The updated "Secondary School Places Allocation Schedule of Major Events for the 2021/22 School Year" is at Annex.
Schooling Arrangements for Schools Offering Non-formal Curriculum
Schools offering non-formal curriculum (normally known as tutorial schools) will continue the suspension of face-to-face classes and on- campus activities until 18 April 2022.
Points to Note for Anti-epidemic Arrangements Arrangements for COVID-19 Vaccination
As the epidemic situation is severe in the community, the EDB strongly urges parents and schools to race against time in the coming two to three months and arrange eligible students to get vaccinated as early as possible to protect themselves. A high vaccination rate will help construct a more effective protective barrier and create favourable conditions for early resumption of face-to-face classes.
Apart from vaccination arranged by parents themselves, during school holiday and suspension of face-to-face classes, the EDB encourages more schools to continue to facilitate and urge students to get vaccinated in accordance with their school-based situation, including arranging on-site vaccination or group booking to Community Vaccination Centres etc.
Should schools have difficulties or enquiries regarding the vaccination arrangements, they can contact their respective Senior School Development Officers. School should also pay attention to the updated information on the various facilitation measures on student vaccination promulgated by the EDB and the Civil Service Bureau.
Implementation of “Vaccine Pass”
“Vaccine Pass” has been implemented starting from 24 February 2022.
Except for those who are granted exemptions, all school staff, persons providing on-campus services and visitors have to have received the first dose or otherwise they will not be allowed to enter into school premises.
Teachers or school staff directly employed by schools who have received only one dose of vaccination should receive the second dose of vaccination during the period within eight weeks after 24 February 2022 (i.e. before 21 April 2022). The above measures would still be put in place during school vacation or suspension of face-to-face classes. The
“Vaccine Pass” arrangements are not applicable to students. Parents accompanying their children to receive vaccinations or parents/guardians planning to receive vaccination in person on school campus are exempted from the requirements.
Anti-Epidemic Measures
Schools should remind parents to pay close attention to the physical and mental health of their children and take anti-epidemic measures during school vacation. Students should avoid going out, especially to crowded places with poor ventilation. They should maintain a balanced diet, exercise regularly, and take adequate rest in order to strengthen their immunity. If teachers, school staff or students are feeling unwell (even the symptoms are very mild), they must not return to school and should seek medical advice promptly so as to receive appropriate diagnoses and treatments.
Schools may encourage teachers, parents and students to make use of suitable online resources1 provided by the EDB and other organisations
1 For details, please visit the MentalHealth@School website (https://mentalhealth.edb.gov.hk/en/index.html) and make reference to the following link:
https://mentalhealth.edb.gov.hk/en/promotion-at-the-universal-level/related-programmes-and-links.html
to assist students to cope with their emotion and pressure during school holiday.
Schools should keep the school campus clean and hygienic all the time.
Schools are required to continue to strictly observe the health measures as stipulated in the “Health Protection Measures for Schools” issued by the EDB and the “Health Advice to Schools for the Prevention of COVID- 19” issued by the Centre for Health Protection.”
We understand that, with adjustment of the vacation, schools have to make a lot of adjustments that require follow-up actions. The plans of individual teachers and parents may also be affected. However, Hong Kong is now facing unprecedented challenges, the concerted efforts of all people to participate in anti-epidemic work are needed. The EDB would like to take this opportunity to thank the education sector, including school staff, parents and students, for their continuous cooperation and support. It is encouraging that many school sponsoring bodies and schools have been actively promoting vaccination for teachers and students. Some even indicate that they are willing to lend the school premises for vaccination and other anti-epidemic purposes. All these acts fully demonstrate the sector’s commitment to the battle against the epidemic.
We would like to express our deepest gratitude for their actions. If schools have any problems in the vacation adjustment as well as other related matters, please contact their respective Senior School Development Officers who will provide all necessary support.
Yours sincerely,
(Vickie LI)
for Permanent Secretary for Education
Schedule of Major Events for the 2021/22 School Year (Updated in February 2022)
Outline of Work
Month Primary School Secondary School
21 September 2021
(Tuesday) 1. P5/2 scores checking On or after
7 October 2021 (Thursday)
2. Disposal of last cycle’s P5/2, P6/1 and P6/2 examination scripts
Early October 2021 1. Reply whether school will participate in the
SSPA System 2020/2022 29 October 2021
(Friday) 3. Collect Information Leaflets and DVDs on the SSPA System 2020/2022
Early December 2021 4.
5.
Reply whether school will participate in the SSPA System 2021/2023
Inform students of procedures for applying for cross-net allocation
6 December 2021
(Monday) 6. Collect Application Forms for Secondary One Discretionary Places and related documents
3 January (Monday) to 17 January 2022 (Monday)
2. All secondary schools participating in the SSPA System accept applications for S1 Discretionary Places within the same period# 5 January 2022
(Wednesday) 7.
8. Submit P6/1 scores
Submit applications for cross-net allocation (first batch)
18 and 19 January 2022 (Tuesday and
Wednesday)
3. Submit EDB’s Copies of Application Forms for Secondary One Discretionary Places 8 February 2022
(Tuesday) 9. P6/1 scores checking 28 February 2022
(Monday) 4. Collect Rank Order Lists
2 March 2022
(Wednesday) 10. Submit applications for cross-net allocation (final batch)
On or before 3 May 2022 (Tuesday)
5. Participating secondary schools submit Successful / Reserve Lists for Discretionary Places
4 May 2022
(Wednesday) 6. Participating secondary schools notify
successful applicants of their inclusion in the Successful List for Discretionary Places 5 May 2022
(Thursday) 11. Collect Lists of Students Notified as Successful Discretionary Places Applicants (Primary Schools)
6 May 2022
(Friday) 12. Collect Secondary One Choice of Schools Forms and related documents for Central Allocation 12 May 2022
(Thursday) 7. Parents could retrieve the signed Parent’s
Undertaking and the original copy of the Primary 6 Student Record Form from non-participating Direct Subsidy Scheme (NDSS) secondary schools on or before 12 May@
23 May 2022 8. Checking of Successful / Reserve Lists for
Month
(Monday) Discretionary Places by participating
secondary schools 30 May 2022
(Monday) 13. Submit Secondary One Choice of Schools Forms 1 June 2022
(Wednesday) 9. NDSS secondary schools submit Successful
Lists of Participating Students*
10 June 2022
(Friday) 10. Checking of Successful Lists of Participating
Students by NDSS secondary schools 15 June 2022
(Wednesday) 14. Checking of school choices for Central Allocation
25 July 2022
(Monday) 15. Collect Allocation Result Lists and related documents
26 July 2022
(Tuesday) 16. Release of allocation results 11.
12. Release of allocation results
Collect Allocation Result Lists and related documents
28 and 29 July 2022
(Thursday and Friday) 17. Students register with the secondary schools
allocated 13. Students register with the secondary schools
allocated 2 August 2022
(Tuesday) 18. Students take the Pre-Secondary One Hong Kong Attainment Test 2022 at the schools that they registered with
14. Students take the Pre-Secondary One Hong Kong Attainment Test 2022 at the schools that they registered with
12 August 2022
(Friday) 19. Submit P5/2 scores
# The application period for S1 admission to Jockey Club Ti-I College is from 3 January to 19 January 2022.
@ If the parents concerned have also successfully applied for a school place in a non-participating Direct Subsidy Scheme (NDSS) secondary school for their children, they may decide whether to retain the school place of the NDSS secondary school. If the parents concerned decide to decline the offer from the NDSS secondary school, they may notify the NDSS secondary school concerned and retrieve the signed Parent’s Undertaking and the original copy of the Primary 6 Student Record Form on or before 12 May 2022 in order to retain the Discretionary Places which they have successfully obtained.
* NDSS secondary schools are required to submit the lists of participating students of 2020/2022 cycle admitted on or before 1 June 2022.
The students and parents concerned should have signed the Parent’s Undertaking and surrendered the original copy of the Primary 6 Student Record Form to the schools as a confirmation of the acceptance of the S1 places offered by the NDSS secondary schools and the agreement to give up any other subsidised S1 places.
February 2022
