73 public schools join new scheme to hire native English-speaking teachers

More than 70 public schools, or nearly 9 per cent, have joined a new scheme in Hong Kong to hire native English-speaking teachers (NETs) that offers lower pay but higher recruitment flexibility. Under the scheme launched this academic year, operators were given a grant to hire such teachers to enhance the effectiveness of English-language instruction and increase students’ exposure to the language. “In the 2025-26 school year, a total of 73 aided schools – 28 primary schools and 45 secondary schools – opted to receive the NET grant,” a spokeswoman for the Education Bureau told the South China Morning Post. The 73 account for 8.7 per cent of Hong Kong’s 838 public primary and secondary schools. Each primary or secondary school that opts for the NET grant receives HK$900,000 (US$114,900) and HK$1 million respectively every academic year under the scheme, covering all costs including basic salaries, contract gratuity and fringe benefits. Schools determine teachers’ pay packages. Schools can use the grant to hire at least one native English-speaking teacher and qualified teaching assistants, and to subscribe to English learning services run by relevant service providers. According to the plans of 21 participating secondary and seven primary schools seen by the SCMP, the average monthly pay for secondary school teachers under the scheme was about HK$46,600, while that for primary school teachers was HK$37,500. These salaries were generally lower than the pay offered under the bureau’s existing grant programme for NETs, which a number of other schools continue to operate under. At least six secondary and four primary schools hired more than one teacher under the scheme, and 12 out of the 28 schools analysed by the SCMP chose to employ teaching assistants. One secondary school used the grant to hire three native English-speaking teachers, budgeting HK$930,000 for their salaries, meaning each one earned a monthly wage of about HK$26,000. Similarly, a primary school hired three teachers with HK$850,000, paying each one about HK$24,000 per month. Some schools were more generous. One secondary school in Tin Shui Wai used HK$999,900 to hire just one teacher, paying her HK$83,325 a month. It did not indicate whether the salary included a housing allowance. A primary school in Islands district hired one teacher, paying her a monthly wage of HK$60,800 – the highest among all primary schools in the list seen by the SCMP. “The Education Bureau has received positive feedback from schools on the flexibility of the new scheme to attract more native English speakers with diverse academic and cultural backgrounds,” the spokeswoman said. “The scheme enabled schools to form a dynamic team of native-English speaking teachers and teaching assistants to enrich students’ language learning experiences and strengthen the English learning environment.” Following the introduction of the new scheme, fewer native English-speaking teachers were hired under the old programme in the current academic year than in the last one. Bureau figures show that about 440 and 340 such teachers hired under the old scheme work in primary and secondary schools, respectively, in the current academic year, compared with 470 and 380 in the last one – an overall reduction of 70 or 8 per cent. The original NET scheme was implemented in 1998-99 in secondary schools and in 2002-03 in primary schools. It offered a basic salary according to a points system and included a contract gratuity, retention incentives and, for teachers who are not from Hong Kong, a special allowance that could be used for housing, baggage and medical fees. Salaries could range from HK$35,080 to HK$67,850 for primary school teachers, and up to HK$81,510 for those in secondaries, with the special allowance at HK$20,989 per month. The contract gratuity for the first and second two-year employment period was 10 per cent of the total salary, increasing to 15 per cent after the four years. Lee Yi-ying, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Subsidised Secondary Schools Council, said the new scheme’s greater flexibility was valued by schools that hired native English-speaking teachers. “I think if schools do not renew the contracts of current teachers and want to hire new and younger native English speakers in the next school year, they will probably switch to the new grant as it offers them greater flexibility,” Lee, a principal, said. If the market did not respond well or schools found it harder to hire English-speaking teachers, they could switch back to the older NET scheme and return to a higher remunerative package to hire and retain talent, she added.

73 public schools join new scheme to hire native English-speaking teachers

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hong Kong Education Bureau’s new scheme offers lower salaries but higher recruitment flexibility

Hong Kong Education Bureau’s new scheme offers lower salaries but higher recruitment flexibility