The Chinese mainland's College English Test, known as CET, will not be accepted by two of Hong Kong's top universities this year when they examine applicants' English skills, China's Southern Metropolis Daily reported Wednesday.

Plan to ditch English test draws concern

English-test changes make great sense

The University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong will both ask all mainland applicants to offer their scores of International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

Compared to the CET, the IELTS is more complete and strict and could better test an applicant's English skill, He Chugang, General Manager of Amber Education's Southern China region, told China's Southern Metropolis Daily.

The IELTS is an international standardised test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers.

The test is accepted by most Australian, British, Canadian, Irish, New Zealand and South African academic institutions, over 3,000 academic institutions in the US, and various professional organizations across the world.

The CET is a foreign language test in the Chinese mainland. The purpose of the CET is to examine the English proficiency of undergraduate students and postgraduate students. The test has existed in China for 26 years and now has a huge test population of about 18 million people annually.

Hong Kong opened its colleges to students from the Chinese mainland in 2002 and the number of mainland students applying to gain entry to universities in Hong Kong has been increasing over the years.

According to the University of Hong Kong, 12,500 students from the Chinese mainland, most of whom scored higher marks in the mainland's gaokao, or college entrance exam, applied for the school in 2013, with 303 gaining admission.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong also admitted 305 mainland students in 2013, including 19 gaokao regional champions.