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https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3083387/most-hong-kongs-teachers-were-professional-during-protests
Hong Kong/ Education

Most of Hong Kong’s teachers were professional during protests, despite misconduct complaints: education chief

  • Reports of misconduct were made against 171 of the city’s 70,000 educators, a proportion Kevin Yeung says is ‘not high’
  • Schools are to set up counselling programmes for students arrested during the protests, and emphasise teaching proper values as well as knowledge about the mainland
Students form a human chain outside Sha Tin’s S.K.H. Lam Kau Mow Secondary School in November 2019 to support arrested schoolmates. Photo: Winson Wong

Most of Hong Kong’s 70,000 teachers remained professional during the anti-government protests, despite complaints being made against more than 170 of them for misconduct, the city’s education chief said in a Thursday interview with the Post.

Reflecting on the movement that started almost a year ago, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said there would be more emphasis on teaching proper values and knowledge about mainland China.

However, he said there were no plans for schools to reintroduce the controversial national education curriculum – which was aimed at instilling patriotism and strengthening Chinese identity in young people, and was shelved in 2012 following protests against the idea – as an independent subject.

Yeung also expressed concern over whether political demonstrations in schools would return as face-to-face classes resumed later this month, following the emergence of online messages appealing to students to revive activities such as sit-ins and chanting slogans.

About 8,000 people were arrested during the protests, which were sparked last June by the government’s now-withdrawn extradition bill. Of those detained, 3,286 were students – nearly 60 per cent of whom were in tertiary education, while about 40 per cent were secondary school pupils.

Hundreds of teachers and their supporters gather in Central in January for a rally against the government’s handling of protest-related complaints involving educators. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
Hundreds of teachers and their supporters gather in Central in January for a rally against the government’s handling of protest-related complaints involving educators. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

According to the Education Bureau, there were 171 protest-related complaints involving teachers’ misconduct between last June and January, including sharing hate messages and insults. Wrongdoing was found in 78 of the 125 cases in which initial investigations were completed.

Of the 39 cases that were followed up, 13 teachers were given written reprimands and four received warning letters, while the rest were given advisory letters or verbal reminders.

Yeung said the proportion of teachers involved in misconduct complaints was “not high”, but stressed that society had high expectations that teachers would conduct themselves professionally.

“I still believe the vast majority of our teachers are still carrying out their work professionally and have shown great care to students to guide and help them grow,” he said.

The pro-democracy Professional Teachers’ Union has criticised the Education Bureau for penalising teachers based on anonymous complaints, while pro-establishment figures, including former chief executive Leung Chun-ying, have said some punishments were not heavy enough.

Students form a human chain outside Sha Tin’s S.K.H. Lam Kau Mow Secondary School in November 2019 to support arrested schoolmates. Photo: Winson Wong
Students form a human chain outside Sha Tin’s S.K.H. Lam Kau Mow Secondary School in November 2019 to support arrested schoolmates. Photo: Winson Wong

“Although society has different views on some of the cases, it is difficult for us to give a public account of each of the complaints. Still, it is important to look at ways to increase transparency so the public can have more confidence in our system,” Yeung said, adding that the bureau was still looking into different ways of achieving that.

Regarding the arrested students, Yeung said the bureau was not aware of any students being expelled from schools, which he said would always aim to educate young people and put them on the right track.

He said the Education Bureau had suggested that schools formulate long-term, personalised counselling programmes for each student that had been arrested or prosecuted, while education officials would follow up on the effectiveness of these support measures.

“We know they have been through some events, and we hope to help them get through this period. For instance, if they have to appear in court, do they feel any mental pressure?” Yeung said.

“But we also have to help them understand what they have done wrong, and help them correct some of their wrongful thinking. This is part of the school’s responsibility.

“We hope [the students] can express their views in more suitable ways which society can accept,” he said, adding that helping students see the reality of whether their acts were influenced by others were things that “should be done within the school system”.

Protesters march from Victoria Park to Chater Road Pedestrian Precinct on January 1. Photo: Sam Tsang
Protesters march from Victoria Park to Chater Road Pedestrian Precinct on January 1. Photo: Sam Tsang

Many secondary-school pupils took part in non-cooperative movements such as citywide class strikes and forming human chains outside schools last year. Yeung said his bureau was concerned whether these protests would happen again, following calls from student groups on social media to rekindle them once classes resume in phases from May 27.

“We strongly oppose the idea of bringing [politics] into campuses, and we will continue to work with the education sector to prevent these activities from entering our campuses,” he said.

“When students finally have the chance to return to school, they should make good use of the opportunity to learn, instead of [doing] something like that.”

Yeung said while there were different factors that drove young people to breach the law, more should be done to instil correct values in them.

Schools would also be asked to do more to educate students about China, including its constitution, and exchange programmes with the mainland would resume when the pandemic was over, he said.

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