First Basic Law exams for new Hong Kong school hires set for January 8, with exemption for native-speaking English teachers
- Nearly all teachers and principals joining schools before the 2022-23 academic year must pass the 15-question, multiple-choice exam
- Applications for exam placements will be open from next Monday, with a second testing session for February yet to be announced
The first Basic Law exam for new teachers and principals at the city’s more than 900 public and subsidised schools will be held on January 8, with placements secured on a first come, first served basis, according to a circular issued to schools by the Education Bureau on Thursday.
A second round of testing will take place on a still-undetermined date in February.
The application process will open from next Monday to November 26, though it was not immediately clear how large the quota for each sitting of the test would be.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor first unveiled the new requirement for teachers who were fresh graduates or changing jobs in her annual policy blueprint last month.
Thursday’s circular underscored previous Lam statements that the move was intended to “safeguard the well-being of students”.