Education Bureau says it needs to act against Hong Kong teachers found guilty over protest-related misconduct to ensure students’ interests and defend the image of the profession

The row over the handling of complaints against teachers involved in ongoing protests has continued with officials insisting that actions should be taken to ensure students’ interests amid criticism that some educators were penalised even before proven guilty.

The Education Bureau revealed earlier that about 80 teachers and teaching assistants had been arrested over the ongoing protests, while it had received 123 protest-related complaints against educators, with wrongdoings confirmed in 13 cases.

But the bureau has been criticised for treating the complaints unfairly, and education minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung was accused of imposing “white terror” by warning to disqualify headmasters who failed to handle the complaints properly during an interview with a mainland media last week.

Education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen wrote to the bureau this week, urging it to stop punishing teachers based on assertions made in anonymous complaints.

He added the authority had done “grave procedural injustice” by concluding that teachers had breached their duties without making any direct inquiries.