The percentage of pupils meeting basic competency levels in this year's Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) has dropped, but education authorities said people should not read too much into the figures, given the negative impact of the pandemic on student learning.

The assessment, which evaluates the learning performance of Primary Three, Primary Six and Form Three students in three core subjects, had been suspended for three years due to Covid-19.

Figures released on Monday showed a significant drop in the performance of Primary Six pupils this year, with the percentage of those attaining the level required in Chinese, English and Mathematics all hitting their lowest since records began in 2005.

And compared with the last assessment in 2019, the figure for English fell 8.5 percentage points to 64.3 percent. As for Chinese, it dropped to 71.1 percent from 77.9 percent.

The performance of Form Three students in all three subjects was also at the lowest since the first such assessment was carried out in 2006.

As for Primary Three pupils, the percentage of those making the grade in the subjects was lower than the corresponding 2019 figures.

The Education Bureau said the TSA results were in line with the weaker performance by students in large-scale international assessments during the pandemic, adding that the drop was within acceptable range.

"The school sector generally found that the suspension of face-to-face classes during the epidemic had caused certain impacts on both the learning and development of students. Moreover, it took time for various parties to adapt to the first assessment since the three-year suspension. Therefore, it is not appropriate to draw any conclusions with reference to the assessment results this year," a spokesperson said.

"Regarding the more significant drop in the Primary Six attainment rates, the [Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority] will further study the reasons."