CASE 1: A teacher with a Bachelor of Philosophy (Education) degree from the University of Birmingham, Britain, in 1991 was assessed as a graduate teacher by the Education Department in the same year. He started work as a graduate teacher in a local secondary school in September 1991.
In 1996 and 1997, he obtained a Master of Education degree from the University of Bristol. He returned to Hong Kong and joined a secondary school as a graduate teacher last September. Last month, the department told the school the teacher was a certificated teacher and the 'additional' salary paid to him in the past year should be returned to the Government.
CASE 2: A teacher obtained a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Nottingham, Britain. He was assessed as a graduate teacher in June 1996. He planned to move to another school this year but last month he was reassessed as a certificated teacher.
CASE 3: A teacher who graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree with honours in psychology and professional studies from Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education, Britain, received approval from his school's board to apply to be upgraded to graduate teacher. He submitted his information to the Civil Service Bureau and was told he was eligible to apply to become a graduate teacher. But he was informed last month that his application was rejected.
CASE 4: A group of teachers finished Bachelor of Teaching degree courses offered jointly by the Caritas Francis Hsu School in Hong Kong and the Australian Catholic University in Australia.
They wrote to the Education Department before the handover and were told the course was recognised as the same level in Hong Kong. Some of them were assessed as graduate teachers in 1995 but last year they were told they could only teach as certificated teachers.
