The College Entrance Examination Center yesterday announced that it has postponed this year’s Advanced Subjects Test (AST) due to scheduling concerns caused by a delay in the start of the new semester.
The AST is typically held from July 1 to July 3, after the second semester has ended, the center said.
However, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Central Epidemic Command Center on Feb. 2 decided to postpone the start of the new semester for students at the senior high school level and under by two weeks to Feb. 25, it said.
Photo: Su Meng-chuan, Taipei Times
The summer break has also been pushed back, and is now expected to begin on July 15 and end on Aug. 29, it said.
Several universities and senior-high schools that are hosting the AST this year have said that if the test were to be held as scheduled, they would have difficulty arranging venues, as classes would still be in session, the center said.
At a meeting yesterday, officials suggested that the best solution would be to hold the test from July 3 to July 5, while keeping the scope of the test unchanged, it said.
A consensus was reached after evaluating the proposal with representatives from the Ministry of Education and the Joint Board of College Recruitment Commission, the exam center said, adding that it would move quickly to accommodate the change.
Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said that officials believe the “slight” adjustment would minimize the impact on schools.
Additional reporting by Rachel Lin
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