Exempt Hong Kong substitute teachers from practising certificates, principals say
Schools already struggle to hire supply teachers, so proposed new measure should consider different criteria to tackle shortfall, they say
School principals in Hong Kong have urged the government to exempt substitute teachers from needing to obtain newly proposed practising certificates to avoid placing unnecessary obstacles in the way of hiring such in-demand educators.
Their calls came as the Education Bureau said last month that it was consulting the Department of Justice on the proposal to ensure it would maintain professional standards and meet the needs of schools.
The new measure, raised in the policy address, would mean that educators must not only attain a postgraduate diploma to become a registered teacher, but also a practising certificate that would have to be regularly renewed in line with their professional development.
Polly Chan Shuk-yee, vice-chairwoman of the Hong Kong Aided Primary School Heads Association, told the Post that while details of the proposed certificates were still being discussed, some principals had suggested to the bureau in an earlier consultation that substitute teachers – who are called “supply teachers” by the government – should be exempt from the requirement.
“Our sector has made this suggestion. Of course, we want supply teachers to be exempted as it is not easy to hire them,” Chan, who heads a primary school, said.
Schools hire supply teachers on a temporary basis when full-time staff go on leave for reasons such as pregnancy, illness or professional training.
On one job platform, about 150 advertisements for supply teachers were posted over the past two months by various institutions, from kindergartens to secondary schools, with some requiring candidates to be available immediately.