Four in 10 Hong Kong teachers want to leave the profession, most of them blame political pressure, survey finds
- Professional Teachers’ Union survey shows 10 per cent of kindergarten and school educators are resigning this year
- Senior school staff tell the Post they are noticing increasing numbers of teachers planning to leave in the wake of the national security law
Four in 10 Hong Kong teachers have decided or are inclined to leave the profession, with most citing increasing political pressure for wanting to quit, according to a survey by one of the city’s biggest trade unions.
Ten per cent of the 1,178 educators polled by the Professional Teachers’ Union (PTU) revealed they were resigning this year, while most of those looking to stay pointed to family and finances as their motivation.
The landscape of the city’s education sector has been rapidly changing since the introduction of the Beijing-imposed national security legislation last June.
Schools have been required to incorporate elements of national security education into various subjects at the primary and secondary levels, and to review their library collections for material that could potentially breach the law.
Sweeping guidelines issued by the Education Bureau to schools in February suggested children as young as six should learn about the law’s four offences – subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
Schools were also told to call police in the event of “grave or emergency” situations relating to pupil behaviour, such as chanting or displaying slogans.
Beijing has also weighed in, saying Hong Kong schools should highlight patriotic education for young people and implement the principle of “patriots” governing the city for educators, while also removing “toxic” teaching materials from campuses.