The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) announced today (July 28) that for all civil service recruitment exercises advertised on or after today, job applicants could apply for the Basic Law and National Security Law Test (BLNST) conducted by the CSB, the Education Bureau (EDB) or various recruiting departments/grades, the pass result of which is mutually acceptable for applying for both civil service jobs and teaching posts in public-funded schools or kindergartens joining the Kindergarten Education Scheme.
 
     A spokesman for the CSB said, "The mutual acceptance arrangement could ensure that job seekers have basic understanding of the Basic Law and the National Security Law on the one hand, and enhance recruitment efficiency on the other hand as applicants are not required to take similar tests again."
 
     The mutual acceptance arrangement is applicable to pass results issued by the CSB, the EDB or recruiting departments/grades, regardless of whether the BLNST is conducted before or after the implementation of the new arrangement. Details of the mutual acceptance of results are as follows:
 

Level of BLNST		Applicability
BLNST conducted by CSB and recruiting departments/grades	BLNST conducted by EDB
BLNST (degree/professional grades)	BLNST (degree level)	All civil service jobs and teaching posts
BLNST (non-degree/non-professional civil service grades at or above completion of secondary education level)	BLNST (non-degree level)	All civil service jobs requiring qualifications below degree/professional level, and all non-degree-holding teaching posts

 
     The CSB and the EDB will conduct various rounds of the BLNST at different levels according to different recruitment needs. The tentative schedule of the BLNSTs to be conducted in the coming year is as follows:
 

Target	Level of BLNST	Organising Bureau	Month/Date of BLNST
Civil service job (degree/professional grades) applicants (Note)	BLNST (degree/professional grades)	CSB	October 7, 2023 December 2023 (outside Hong Kong) June 2024
Persons who plan to apply as degree-holding teachers in primary and secondary schools and kindergartens	BLNST (degree level)	EDB	December 2023 April 2024 July 2024
Persons who plan to apply as non-degree-holding teachers in primary and secondary schools and kindergartens	BLNST (non-degree level)	EDB	October 2023 June 2024

Note: For non-degree/non-professional civil service jobs, recruiting departments/grades will make arrangements for applicants to take the BLNST during the recruitment process.
 
     Details of the above BLNSTs (including the application and test dates) will be announced in due course. For details of the BLNST for recruitment of civil servants and newly appointed teachers, please visit the websites of the CSB (www.csb.gov.hk/english/recruit/blnst/1372.html) and the EDB (www.edb.gov.hk/en/blnst) respectively.
 
     In order to ensure that new recruits to the civil service have basic understanding of the Basic Law and the National Security Law, for all civil service recruitment exercises advertised on or after July 1, 2022, all applicants must have attained a pass result in the BLNST in order to be considered for appointment. Starting from 2023/24 school year, the above arrangement also applies to all newly appointed teachers in public sector schools, Direct Subsidy Scheme schools and kindergartens joining the Kindergarten Education Scheme.

Ends/Friday, July 28, 2023
Issued at HKT 14:00

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