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SCMP Reporter

The number of teachers applying to earn extra money as evening lecturers has tripled in the past year due to the economic slump.

 About 5,400 teachers have applied for evening jobs and some educationists say the interest could help cope with increased demand for classes from mainland migrants.

 There were 1,800 applications for about 150 evening posts last year.

 The Education Department said the number of positions available this year would depend on how many teachers quit.

 A short-list of candidates to be interviewed was being prepared.

 Part-time teachers can earn $445 per hour for GCE O-level or Form Six-level classes, $337 per hour for senior secondary level, $295 per hour for junior secondary level and $270 per hour for primary-level classes.

 Mervyn Cheung Man-ping, spokesman for the Hong Kong Association for Continuing Education, said the poor economy had driven more teachers to seek extra part-time work.

 'The department should open more classes, especially more senior secondary classes and more science-stream classes,' he said.

 'The classes can meet the demand caused by the expected arrival of more mainlanders.'  Education officials are drawing up contingency plans to meet the influx of up to 700,000 mainlanders with immediate right of abode - about 200,000 of them aged 20 or under.

 There are fears that the size of classes will be increased or the introduction of whole-day primary schooling will be delayed.

 Legislator and president of the Professional Teachers' Union Cheung Man-kwong estimated more than 100 new schools would be needed to cope with the demand.

 'The Government should build some 'school villages', where clusters of schools are established to share facilities,' Mr Cheung said yesterday.

 'Mid-way schools should be set up for the arrivals, to teach them English before transferring them to formal schools.' 



Economic downturn drives thousands of teachers to apply for evening jobs