All those years just ignored
I OFTEN read in the South China Morning Post of the lack of competent qualified teachers in Hong Kong and how the Board of Education is considering new methods to entice teachers from other countries, and students, to enter the teaching profession.
If my story is an example of how the Board of Education treats overseas teachers then perhaps it is easy to seen why old teachers are leaving the profession in droves as stated in an article in the Post earlier this year.
I recently returned to Hong Kong after teaching for many years in Holland and Belgium and am now currently employed as a teacher in the New Territories.
On giving my attestations and qualifications - a Masters degree from a British university, an IGCSE Coursework Assessors Certificate from the University of Cambridge Examinations Board and many years teaching IGCSE and A-Level syllabuses at internationalschools - I have been informed by the Board of Education, that my years of teaching experience are not considered valid and I must start at the very bottom of the salary scale as a fresh graduate with no teaching experience, yet currently I am teaching form five and form seven students and am the chairman of my subject panel.
Therefore does it make sense for the Board of Education to only recognise teaching experience gained in Commonwealth countries such as Kenya or India, but not recognise the teaching experience of a teacher skilled in teaching children of all nationalities in countries which like the UK are members of the European Community? It appears highly probable that the teaching profession will lose yet another teacher (namely myself) to the private sector, since I cannot continue to look after a family of four properly as a ''fresh'' graduate on a new graduate's salary due to the intransigence of an outdated and unworldly institution which professes to want better teaching standards in Hong Kong.
W. C. S. WONG New Territories
