Call for bar on unaccredited teachers in classes
The Education Bureau is facing mounting pressure to plug a loophole in the teacher-hiring process that allows teachers without full accreditation to instruct students.
The calls came as school officials grappled with the aftermath of the revelation that Dennis Sewar, an English-language teacher convicted of a child-related offence, had taught in some of the city's schools for the past year.
At the same time Media Power Education, the agency that brought Mr Sewar to Hong Kong, said the Immigration Department's visa and entry-permit application form that recruits must complete did not require any declaration of past criminal convictions.
Schools Mr Sewar had taught at said it was common practice for a teacher from abroad to start work as an assistant without registration with the Education Bureau.
Mr Sewar, who is on permanent leave of absence from the Catholic priesthood in the US, was convicted in 2006 of endangering the welfare of a child. He has insisted there was no sexual element in his offence, which involved a 14-year-old boy.
