Hong Kong education authorities investigating administrators of school where teacher was stripped of registration for ‘bias’
- Education secretary Kevin Yeung tells Legislative Council session that administrators must be held accountable for teachers’ actions
- The Education Bureau is also considering implementing temporary deregistrations for teachers accused of less serious infractions
“School management, in general, has to be held accountable for school-based teaching materials by [teachers],” Yeung said of the inquiry at Lung Cheung Government Secondary School, where the recently disqualified teacher taught. “We are currently reviewing the responsibility of management of the school, but the investigation has not been completed yet.”
Yeung did not specify who the bureau was focusing on, but in addition to its principal, who is a civil servant, the school is also overseen by a principal education officer from the government, who heads its management committee.
Education Bureau officials have accused the liberal studies teacher of touching on “political issues that were still developing”, using “distorted” facts and content not backed by evidence, and “defaming the nation” via “one-sided” materials.
At least one pupil was among those who complained about the teacher, the bureau said.
The Professional Teachers’ Union, which has been assisting with the educator’s case, has said she denies education authorities’ allegations.
Two more Hong Kong teachers deregistered for life, one for ‘defaming the nation’
At least 269 protest-related complaints against teachers’ were received by the Education Bureau between 2019 and last December. So far, 154 educators have been found guilty of wrongdoing and disciplined.
The cases, and others like them, have prompted worries of a chilling effect on campuses, as well as criticism that those accused of wrongdoing are afforded insufficient due process. Others have argued that a lifetime ban in such cases is too harsh.
Hong Kong students say lifetime ban on teacher unfair, disproportionate
On the Education Bureau’s current scale of disciplinary actions, the next-harshest measure after lifetime deregistration is a formal written reprimand.
Education officials recently appeared to acknowledge the need for a middle ground, announcing they were planning to introduce something akin to a parole system for disqualified teachers involved in less serious cases.
Instead of automatically disqualifying a teacher for life, the bureau would stipulate that their application for re-registration would not be considered within a specific time period. Deregistered educators could apply for reinstatement after that period if they could provide authorities with “strong justifications” that they were “fit and proper” teachers.
But teachers involved in “serious misconduct” would still be banned for life for the “safety of students”, the bureau said.
Art teacher facing disciplinary action over ‘inappropriate’ political cartoons
However, Ip Kin-yuen, vice-president of the Professional Teachers’ Union and a former opposition lawmaker representing the education sector, said he believed shortening the disqualification period was “not too meaningful”, given that deregistration itself was still regarded as an “extreme penalty”.
“For a teacher who is being deregistered for a few years, his or her future would already be ruined,” he said. “It is also important to note whether there are reasonable and proper procedures, hearings and a set of clear criteria throughout the bureau’s investigation process.”
Ip added that for the two previously deregistered teachers who the PTU was assisting, there had been no updates received on the progress of their appeals.
