COVID-safe HSC exams kick off with students to wear masks
Thousands of New South Wales Year 12 students will sit their first HSC exam this morning, with face masks mandatory during the examination.
Air purifiers will also be present in some examination settings to limit the spread of coronavirus.
Following a four-week delay, 62,000 Year 12 students will also take the English paper under COVID-safe conditions.
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Thousands of students in NSW will start HSC exams today. AAP
The mask mandate has been met with backlash, with some students calling for the exams to be cancelled or modified.
Year 12 student Jamie Christopoulos said wearing a mask would be an added stress in an already stressful situation.
"It's already a very stressful time … and it's just another added pressure, another thing you have to think about going into 15 hours of exams," he said.
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The NSW government said the mask mandate will remain unchanged yesterday. iStock
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said he sympathised with HSC students as he yesterday confirmed the mask mandate would remain unchanged.
"I apologise to the students who will find this difficult on top of all the other challenges over the last 18 months," he said.
From yesterday, all teachers working in NSW schools must now be fully vaccinated.
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