‘Extremely problematic’: Hong Kong education and counselling professionals slam authorities over insufficient staff support
Disjointed counselling system means it is difficult to catch disturbed or suicidal pupils, with underpaid social workers facing a heavy load
A disjointed and patchy school counselling system that struggles to keep up with troubled children’s emotional and psychological needs is coming under scrutiny as the city reels from a worrying spate of youth suicides.
Education and counselling professionals have told the Post that primary schools burn through underpaid and overworked counselling staff who are unwilling to stay in the job beyond a couple of years.
They blamed the Education Bureau’s “stingy” funding, which leaves counsellors earning up to 40 per cent less than government-subvented social workers of the same grade.
READ MORE: Hong Kong announces emergency measures after 22 suicides since the start of the academic year
The wages are so low that some schools can’t even afford full-time staff, and have to settle for a social worker just three days a week, or a few hours a day.
There is also a complete disconnect between primary and secondary school counselling services – overseen by two different government departments.
All schools’ counselling staff have enormous workloads, with some having to look after up to 800 students single-handedly, according to Dilys Lai Siu-ling, social work supervisor at the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association.
“Even if only 10 per cent of the students need help, we are talking about 80 cases for one social worker,” she said.
