Smart dress campaign to boost teachers' image
A primary school has sought to boost the image of its teachers by plastering posters of them dressed in suits at the entrance of the school and encouraging them to dress professionally in the classroom.
Teachers should dress as if attending a banquet, said Maria Lam Woon-sum, principal of Ying Wa Primary School in Sham Shui Po.
Fashion magazines have been made available for teachers and shelves been put up in restrooms for them to keep their accessories.
While saying she did not want to mimic adverts placed by tutorial schools, Ms Lam asked: 'Why do A-scoring students attribute their academic success to private tutors but not to teachers?'
She said she hoped to create a professional image for teachers.
Cheung Chi-hung, chairman of the Hong Kong Aided Primary Schools Heads' Association, found her idea 'very creative', but it was more important for teachers to pay heed to their actions and words.
The chairman of the Association of Heads of Secondary Schools, William Yip Kam-yuen, said: 'I believe there is a bit of pressure on teachers to compete with private tutors but it is unnecessary to make schools and teachers too commercialised.
'A school's core business is to teach, and it would be more appropriate to project an image that portrays simplicity, integrity and the search for knowledge.'
Ho Lok-mei and Mok Chi-kong, who teach at the school, said they did not feel under pressure to buy new clothes.
Pupils had mixed reactions. One said he felt like he had walked into a private tutorial centre. 'In the beginning I wasn't used to it, but later I found it quite funny.'
Another said: 'Though the teachers are better looking, they are more serious than ever.'
