Retired teachers rally in support of their redundant colleagues
About 60 retired teachers took to the street yesterday to back their former colleagues in a protest against the treatment of redundant teachers and cuts in education spending.
The group, which marched to Central Government Offices and presented a petition to Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, blamed the government's faulty manpower projections for forcing 500 primary school teachers out of jobs and making it nearly impossible for new ones to join the profession.
'We came out to support the teachers because we do not think they should bear the brunt of the government's poor planning,' said Chau Pui-fong, head of the retired teachers' group of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union.
Mr Chau said they were worried that the problem would worsen in the coming years as the birthrate continued to drop. 'I think we will have a lot more redundant teachers, not just in the primary but also in the secondary sector next year,' he said.
The group urged the chief executive to introduce smaller classes and create new teaching posts to absorb graduates from teacher-training institutes.
The protest was the third organised by the union since last month.
Only 215 teaching vacancies remain. But nearly all new teachers have yet to secure a job, while as many as 191 redundant teachers remained jobless this week, according to the Education and Manpower Bureau.
Woo Wing-hang, newly graduated from the Hong Kong Institute of Education, said she was not positive about getting a teaching post. 'What is the point of training to be a teacher if we are not expected to be teachers on graduation?' she said.
