Teachers 'facing interference' to instil patriotism in Hong Kong pupils
Without giving names, a veteran educator says outsiders are meddling with school curricula
Secondary school teachers are facing interference and pressure to inculcate a sense of patriotism in their pupils after the student-led Occupy Central civil disobedience movement for democracy, a veteran head of school says.
More "industry outsiders" had tried to pressure the government to revise the curricula for subjects such as liberal studies, Chinese history and the Basic Law, Michael Wong Wai-yu, honorary executive secretary of the Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools, said without naming anyone.
The purpose was to make the young generation more patriotic and less critical of political controversies, he wrote in a letter read out on RTHK radio show yesterday.
"After Occupy Central, workers in the educational sector have faced more and more challenges, such as … overwhelming pressure on the curricula of secondary schools," Wong said.
Association chairwoman Lee Suet-ying agreed with Wong, but said she had yet to see substantial changes in education policy. "The critical moment has arrived and I think we need to speak out."
In his letter, Wong mentioned "someone" had suggested putting teaching recruits through training in national education. He said it showed a mistrust of teaching professionals.
Wong's letter came after executive councillor Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun, a former top civil servant for education, proposed last week that incoming teachers spend a month on the mainland learning about the nation in order to be qualified to teach.
Fan, a permanent secretary for education and manpower in the years after the handover, later said her remarks had been taken out of context and that her suggestion was not an attempt to "brainwash" new teachers.
She has nevertheless come under criticism from both pan-democrats and her political allies.
"None of the new recruits in other professions in Hong Kong require advance training on the mainland, so why do only new teachers need this?" Wong, a former chairman of the association, wrote. "I believe the [rationale] behind the idea reflects mistrust and unfairness."
Wong's letter also followed remarks in January by Chen Zuoer , head of a semi-official Beijing think-tank, the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, that the education sector was "in a mess" during the 79-day Occupy protests and that the education minister, school sponsors, teachers and social workers should be held responsible for the problems.
Wong told the : "I hope government officials will not cast doubt on the political impartiality of teaching professionals."
He said he was concerned the remarks would put pressure on education policymakers.
