Surge in Hong Kong teachers quitting leads to hiring difficulties for schools for certain subjects, education minister says

The surge in teachers quitting has left schools in Hong Kong struggling to fill positions for subjects such as English language and home economics, the new education minister has revealed, while pledging to liaise with institutions to adjust training quotas.

Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin on Sunday also denied that study tours to mainland China for senior secondary school students as part of the revamped citizenship and social development subject were attempts to brainwash the children.

Choi admitted that some schools were facing difficulties in hiring teachers for certain subjects even though there was adequate training provided.

“During our recent meetings with school principals, some of them told us that it was difficult to recruit teachers for certain subjects such as English language and home economics,” she said during a radio show. “In the future, we will further connect with teacher training institutions to see how we can adjust the quotas of their places, so that the supply of [teachers] can be more adequate.”

The Education Bureau revealed in May that the number of teachers who had left public and direct subsidy schools had jumped to 4,050 in the current academic year, a 70 per cent increase from 2,380 in the previous one.

The reasons for leaving included retirement, pursuit of further education, new employment opportunities in private or international schools, change of profession and personal reasons.

Choi added different factors contributed to the large number of departures.

“One of the reasons is that some teachers chose to change their career fields. For example, [people specialising in] information technology and English language are also in high demand in other industries,” she said.