Teachers at Hong Kong’s biggest international school group could be put on unpaid leave and face disciplinary action if they refuse to take regular Covid-19 tests, the Post has learned.

The revelations followed the English Schools Foundation’s (ESF) decision last week that more than 2,600 staff members at kindergartens and schools must be screened by this week to meet an Education Bureau condition for bringing all pupils back into the classroom.

But more than 400 people have signed an online petition started by a group of ESF parents urging management to reconsider the plan, saying a full return to campus could increase children’s risk of being exposed to the virus.

Under existing infection control measures, ESF schools, like most others in the city, have been able to allow up to one-third of their total student population to return for classes on a half-day basis, after the Lunar New Year holiday ended on February 22.

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Filipino teachers invent book disinfection device to help protect pupils and staff from Covid-19

Filipino teachers invent book disinfection device to help protect pupils and staff from Covid-19

Only schools which get all staff tested every fortnight could apply for a full return to class. The latest figures from the bureau showed about 500 of the city’s 2,000 schools, mostly kindergartens, had brought back all pupils or were planning the move.

ESF, which runs 22 kindergartens and schools with 18,000 pupils, told staff last Thursday they would have to undergo regular virus tests to fully resume face-to-face lessons, after a petition letter supported by more than 200 parents asked them to do so three days earlier.

The Post has learned that ESF plans to bring back all pupils from as early as next Monday, but two sources close to ESF schools said teachers were divided over the mandatory testing plans.

“[Teachers] should have been consulted in some way before being told this is what is happening,” a source said. “[Some believe] if it is truly about protecting people from Covid-19, [screening] should be for all people on campus, including kids.”

The source added that some teachers were wondering if the governing board had pressurised ESF management into making the decision.

In an internal document recently received by staff, and seen by the Post, ESF denied the decision was rushed, and said they had been considering the plan over the past few weeks.

The document told staff that if they refused to take the tests, they would be asked to discuss their concerns, and if they still refused they could face further consequences.

“When the school resumed operations with 100 per cent of staff on site, the staff member refusing to take the test would be placed on unpaid leave,” the document read.

Describing the testing plans as a “contractual obligation”, ESF added: “In any situation where a staff member refuses a reasonable direction from their employer, the result could have professional repercussions for that staff member including disciplinary action.”

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An ESF spokeswoman said in a reply that planning for a full return to class was a “positive step in the right direction”.

But she did not address questions as to whether disciplinary action could include termination, or whether ESF would consider postponing the plans.

“Our target is of course to have 100 per cent [of the pupils] back and as such, working closely with our staff, we have made the necessary arrangements,” Belinda Greer, ESF’s chief executive, said.

Abraham Shek, chairman of the board of governors, defended the management’s aims to ensure the health of students, and said teachers should get vaccinated after the government decided to list teachers and school employees among the latest priority groups to receive coronavirus jabs.