A registered primary school teacher was barred from teaching in late September after being found to have intentionally advocated separatism through teaching materials, Hong Kong’s Education Bureau announced on Monday evening.
The teacher, whose identity was not revealed, is the city’s first to be disqualified after 247 complaints of teacher misconduct were made to the bureau since last June. The teacher will not be allowed to teach in the future.
The teacher, whose identity was not revealed, is the city’s first to be disqualified after 247 complaints of teacher misconduct were made to the bureau since last June. The teacher will not be allowed to teach in the future
In response to a China Daily inquiry, an EDB spokesperson said the teacher was found to have disseminated Hong Kong independence-related content in self-designed teaching plans, teaching materials, and worksheets.
The EDB considered such conduct “a serious breach of professional ethics”, the spokesperson said. The action could be detrimental to the students as most of the messages provided were “distorted and biased” and inconsistent with the constitutional status of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the Basic Law, the spokesperson added.
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The EDB decided to cancel the teacher’s professional qualifications in a spirit of safeguarding the interests of students, the professionalism of the teacher’s group, and the public’s trust in the teaching profession, the spokesperson said.
The EDB has also issued letters of reprimand to the principal and vice-principal of the school concerned, denouncing them for inadequate supervision. Other teachers received written warnings as they were using the relevant teaching materials without assessing if the content was appropriate.
The spokesperson noted that the EDB would follow up on cases of suspected misconduct of teachers as it took the matter seriously. For registered teachers who were found to have committed serious misconduct, the bureau will cancel their qualifications in accordance with the law to eliminate “black sheep” in the sector, so as to uphold the professional dignity of teachers and safeguard the interests of students.
From June 2019 to August 2020, the EDB received 247 complaints about the alleged professional misconduct of teachers relating to social incidents. Investigations have been completed into 204 of those cases and 131 were substantiated.
Another 35 teachers were given other forms of warnings, that the EDB would consider disqualifying them if they were guilty of any further misconduct.
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From May 22 to late July, the EDB received 1,900 inquiries from local schools seeking information on the teachers to be recruited, including if the candidate teacher has a qualified registration, whether the person has ever received advisory, warning, or reprimand letters from the department.
“We believe that the measures will help schools recruit suitable candidates to safeguard the well-being of students,” the spokesperson said.
