A LARGE number of school teacher-librarians are unhappy in their work and would gladly take up other employment given the chance, according to a recent survey.
The survey showed that about one-third of the teacher-librarians in 313 government subsidised schools were dissatisfied with their work status, and about half this number would happily take up other posts.
''The important function of the school library and the status of the teacher-librarian are not fully recognised,'' said Mr Wong Chi-kwan, principal of Lok Sin Tong Leung Chik Wai Memorial School which conducted the survey.
''Besides the bleak prospects, there's a lack of respect shown, which is another reason for dissatisfaction.'' At a recent seminar run by the Teacher Librarians Group of the Hongkong Professional Teachers' Union, it was recommended that teacher-librarians be eligible for promotion to Graduate Master (GM) status and continue working as teacher-librarians after obtaining an education degree.
Mr Fung Kam-kei, external vice-president of the group, said that at present, teacher-librarians who wanted to keep their jobs after obtaining a degree had to remain in the same rank of Certified Master instead of being promoted to GM.
''Most principals think it's a waste to stay on as a teacher-librarian after getting a degree. They ask to teach in the senior forms,'' Mr Fung said.
''If you want to remain as a teacher-librarian, you cannot be promoted to a higher rank and get a better salary.'' Mr Fung also found widespread misunderstanding among teachers of the nature of the teacher-librarians' job.
