Education reforms blamed for society's ills, Fanny Law claims
Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun vented apparent frustration at critics yesterday, saying the government's education reforms were being blamed for society's ills.
'People have poured cold water on education [policy], saying it would never work because it would be blamed for anything that happens in society,' the permanent secretary at the Education and Manpower Bureau said at a public school function in Yau Ma Tei.
'I have been told that a student was hit by a car while crossing the road because there are not enough places [for him at school to repeat his studies] ... and a student who committed theft did so because of the poor education system.'
After the meeting, she refused to elaborate on whom she might have been referring to.
Mrs Law has faced repeated calls since January to resign over her handling of teachers' opposition to education reforms. However, she insisted that she had evaluated how the reforms should be implemented and would not be beaten down by criticisms.
Mrs Law also hoped people would refrain from using the word 'reforms', preferring to describe what her administration was doing as 'sustainable development'.
Lawmaker and Professional Teachers' Union president Cheung Man-kwong said the examples Mrs Law cited to defend herself were too extreme.
'She used these examples to cover up public dissatisfaction with the education system,' he said. 'A lot of parents are dissatisfied [with the education system] without having their children hit by vehicles.'
Mr Cheung yesterday called on union members to maintain unity and continue fighting to achieve their goals from the government.
Speaking at a rally of about 700 teachers and principals in Hunghom yesterday, Mr Cheung said the Education and Manpower Bureau's announcement on Monday of $1.76 billion in measures aimed at reducing teacher stress showed that the union's actions had achieved results. But, although he welcomed 'any policies that can help reduce teacher stress', he said the new package did not go far enough.
The meeting was the union's first major gathering since about 10,000 teachers protested on January 22 about stress and the pace of education reform. The fired-up crowd welcomed teachers and principals' complaints about working conditions and criticisms of education secretary Arthur Li Kwok-cheung and Mrs Law. Many called for class-size reductions and an end to the bureau's policy on school closures.
The protest also came after suicides of two teachers in early January. Their families said stress from reforms was behind the deaths.
