A union's call for teachers to stay away from classes in September as a protest against the national-education curriculum has gained little support from principals and school sponsoring bodies.
Last night the Professional Teachers' Union passed a resolution to mobilise teachers to boycott classes on September 3, the first day of term, if the government refuses to withdraw the subject in the new school year.
Fong King-lok, an executive committee member of the union, said it was hard to estimate how many schools would join at this stage, but the union would summon support from education bodies and school principal groups.
The subject will be introduced in primary schools at the start of the new term, despite a protest by tens of thousands of pupils, parents and teachers on Sunday.
Many schools have already decided not to introduce the subject, which the government says will engender national pride but critics fear will be used for 'brainwashing'. And principals say any form of strike will deprive children of an education.
Timothy Ha Wing-ho, education adviser to the city's Anglican Church, the Sheng Kung Hui, has reservations about a strike, saying it would be hard for parents to settle their children at a school that joined a strike. The 50 primary schools sponsored by the church will not introduce national education in September. Over a third of primary schools citywide say they will not implement the subject yet.
'All our teaching schedules have been fixed already,' Ha said. 'When school starts, we'll have meetings with principals and teachers to discuss what we are going to do about national education.'