Teacher Lam Lai-tong feel to her death at TWGHs Leo Tung-hai Lee Primary School. Photo: Handout
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https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3002050/school-heads-are-told-about-confidential-complaints-staff Education
School heads told about confidential complaints from staff, Hong Kong education boss admits as investigation begins into teacher’s death
- Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung says his department may contact a school after complaint is received
- Identity of staff member can be revealed and principals are sometimes left to investigate themselves
Hong Kong’s education chief has said it is inevitable that the Education Bureau would get help from the management of a school when a complaint is received against its board members, staff or the principal.
Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung revealed on Sunday that the complainant’s identity may also be exposed during the handling process, but said that was only to better understand and effectively address their concerns.
His admission comes nearly two weeks after the death of Lam Lai-tong, a Chinese and library studies teacher at TWGHs Leo Tung-hai Lee Primary School, in Tin Shui Wai.
Lam, who had worked at the school for more than 20 years, was said to be under extreme stress and made to work while she was ill just before her death. The 48-year-old died after falling from a six-storey campus building.
Last week, Yeung confirmed that authorities received a complaint against a primary school months before the teacher died.
However, instead of launching an investigation, the case was referred to the school’s committee, a move that prompted accusations that the bureau had shied away from its responsibility in supervising schools.
“Under the current guidelines, complaints involving teaching, learning and daily operations would be better handled at the school level rather than by us,” Yeung said.
“This is really case-by-case, depending on the incident. When it comes to complaints filed against another individual at the school, we will not disclose the identity of the complainant during our investigation, but sometimes we have to obtain information on the respondent and that is when we need to seek assistance from the relevant school.
“The bureau will of course try to get that information on our end before turning to the school, which is our last resort unless we absolutely have to.”
Since Lam’s death, the school’s principal Law Yuen-yee has been on leave and not available for comment.
Meanwhile, educators have blamed the controversial school-based management policy for contributing to Lam’s death.
Introduced in 2004, the policy requires each aided school to establish a management committee, made up of supervisors, alumni, teachers, the principal, and managers from the sponsoring body, to oversee day-to-day operations, financial resources and personnel matters.
Stephen Lui said investigations must be run independently to avoid abuse of power.
Meanwhile, on a City Forum programme held by RTHK, Stephen Lui Ki-cheung, who is also a committee member at primary and secondary schools, said that to avoid abusive school management, such committees must operate independently and not be controlled by a few individuals.
The programme featured experts, educators and a former student of TWGHs Leo Tung-hai Lee Primary School, who all weighed in on the issue.
As a school manager himself, Lui said he had seen situations where upon receiving complaints against principals, the school supervisor would tell the respondent and leave it to them to handle the claim.
“This is because supervisors are not present at the school every day and may only have limited knowledge of how the school operates,” Lui said. “So, often times, supervisors would turn to the principal, which would then allow them to abuse their power.
“There’s a need to allow more teaching staff and parent representatives to increase the checks and balances of management.”
On Thursday, the individual panel set up by the school’s sponsoring body, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, held its first meeting.
The five-strong committee, tasked to look into the cause of Lam’s death, said it would begin its investigation by meeting with all teachers and staff at the primary school.
Others at the forum, including secondary teacher Simon Hung Ling-fai and Ken Chan, a former pupil of the primary school in the New Territories, demanded that school officials and the principal face the public as soon as possible.