‘Ferocious tide’ of educators leaving Hong Kong, association of secondary school heads warns
- Survey by Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools shows 987 teachers left their jobs during 2020-21 academic year
- Many principals have expressed difficulties in hiring teachers for new academic year, it says
Hong Kong secondary school heads have warned of a “ferocious departure tide” as the supply of new educators has failed to counterbalance the number of teachers leaving their jobs.
The warning on Monday came as the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools released the results of a survey conducted in September that showed a record number of both teachers and students departed campuses in the 2020-21 academic year. Each school lost an average of 7.1 teachers in 2020-21, with the figure standing at 3.9 in 2019-20 and 4.2 in 2018-19.
“Teacher turnover and the decline in student population are already indisputable facts which may undermine the development of education in Hong Kong and its future development if they are not handled properly and in time,” the report concluded.
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The association said that many principals had expressed difficulties in hiring teachers for the new academic year.
The survey, which was conducted in collaboration with the Chinese University in September last year, covered 140 secondary schools.
The study found that 987 surveyed secondary school teachers left their posts during the 2020-21 academic year. Among those who resigned, 395 had one to 10 years of experience, 234 had 11 to 20 years and 358 had spent more than two decades as educators.
“Schools are now facing the departure of teachers across all age groups, including middle managers and even very senior teachers,” the association said.