To find out how officers have strived for better results in the qualifying exam, OffBeat has spoken to two of the "Distinction" scorers and one "Great Credit" scorer. To a certain extent, they have accomplished their common goal of upgrading themselves for their career developments by sitting for the exam.

At the 2008 Promotion to Sergeant Qualifying Examination, Police Constable Kwok Pang-chi from Emergency Unit Kowloon West and Police Constable Yuen Man-tai from Tsuen Wan District Anti-triad Squad both obtained "Distinction" in their second attempts at the exam. PC Kwok also earned the honour of being the most outstanding candidate with the highest mark among the "Distinction" scorers.

The third officer, Police Constable Leung Chi-ming from Airport Security Unit obtained "Great Credit" in his fourth attempt. Back in 2000, he was greatly disappointed with the result of his first attempt. Undeterred by his failure, he sat for the qualifying exam again in 2002 and 2005, scoring "Pass" and "Credit" respectively.

All the three officers are well aware that for their jobs and career developments, they have to catch up with the changes in Police work that have taken place since their graduation from the former Police Training School in Aberdeen. They are particularly eager to update themselves on the changes relating to Police laws and procedures. For them, one of the best ways to do this is to sit for the Promotion to Sergeant Qualifying Examination again, and in the course of preparing for the exam, they managed to upgrade themselves for their jobs and subsequently attained better results in the exam.

In preparation for the qualifying exam, all the three officers regard the POINT as an excellent tool, which they say, contains syllabus for the qualifying exam as well as all relevant Police General Orders and Force Procedure Manual for candidates to do their revision.

They also say that equally important is experience-sharing among officers and members of the study groups set up in various police stations.

Quoting an example, PC Kwok pointed out what Emergency Unit Kowloon West has been doing is a big help for officers taking the Promotion to Sergeant Qualifying Examination. He added: "In a bid to enhance work efficiency, EU KW floats a question for its officers every day. These questions cover a variety of job-related matters, and are designed to stimulate officers' thinking and discussion to find out correct answers. During their brain-storming and deliberation, officers came to know their jobs better and got a better idea of how to get their jobs done."

In preparation for the qualifying exam, the three officers remind their colleagues to collect information on the jobs they have little exposure to or experience. This is especially true with Police laws and procedures, they said.

They also said that there was no short cut to passing the qualifying exam, except hard work to find out exam information, and a systematic way to handle and memorise information. Their further advice for exam candidates is "Don't burn the midnight oil only on the last few days before the exam. Bear in mind what you've learned during the course of your job and never hesitate to ask and discuss with your peers or supervisors if you come across any problem.

"On the day of the exam, don't succumb to stress and treat success and failure with an open mind. The exam technique is to attempt the questions you know well and don't waste too much time on those you're not certain about. Before handing in the exam paper, go through all questions again and tackle the ones you haven't attempted."

At the end of the officers' interview with OffBeat, Force Training Officer of the Police College, Examinations and Assessment Division, Superintendent Poon Tsang-kee, asked the officers for their views on the arrangement of deducting marks for incorrect answers. In reply, the officers said they considered the arrangement fair and proper.

They believed that the arrangement was designed to remind officers not to make a wild guess or take chance if they are not sure about answers. Officers should take this attitude in the course of their jobs, they added.

Superintendent Poon Tsang-kee from the Police College congratulates (from left) PCs Yuen Man-tai, Leung Chi-ming and Kwok Pang-chi on their exam results and encourages them to pursue lifelong learning