“A teacher is one who transmits knowledge, provides for study and dispels confusion,” according to Tang Dynasty (618-907) scholar Han Yu. 

The role of teachers nowadays involves not only teaching but also facing the stress emanating from politics, society and administrational work. Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin released the Guidelines on Teachers’ Professional Conduct in 2022, which replaced the Code for the Education Profession, published in 1995. After the 2019-20 protests and the COVID-19 pandemic, we should rebuild a stable environment for teachers, and let them focus on their profession for the next generation.

At present, society is paying a great deal of attention to teachers’ ethics, and the formulation of guidelines that keep pace with the times can be described as a consensus among them. However, front-line teachers are concerned that the code of conduct should be clear, without too many clauses that are open to interpretation, to avoid the sense that “everyone is in danger”; society expects teachers to have basic loyalty to the system and to have a certain degree of political sensitivity. Therefore, there should be five areas in formulating teacher ethics — their teaching work, treatment of colleagues, treatment of parents, treatment of students, and public image.

The new guidelines for teachers in Hong Kong reveal that the Education Bureau (EDB) has announced a major revision to deal with “misconduct on social platforms”. If a teacher uses a social platform account that can be identified as his or her own (including mobile communication applications), when they post something containing information that “affects the image and the social confidence of teachers negatively” — even if the post is intended to be shared privately, but someone else has circulated it — the EDB may take punitive action against them. We expect professionally trained teachers to maintain a higher moral standard than the average person; however, the new guidelines stipulate for the first time that when a teacher uses a social platform account that can be determined to be their own, they should also observe the same high moral standard and professional attitude when posting from that account.

It is only natural for teachers to take an oath to uphold the Basic Law. … The most effective approach would be to include the teacher’s oath and the newly added Basic Law aptitude test 

It is worth noting that civil servants are now required to take an oath to uphold the Basic Law, and this practice has also been adopted by other institutions and organizations funded with public money. The vast majority of school expenses and teacher salaries in Hong Kong are paid through public financing. In addition, the government also has the responsibility to supervise the profession of teachers. It is only natural for teachers to take an oath to uphold the Basic Law. However, the current SAR government wants to include the oath as a condition of teachers’ employment; since teachers are hired by the incorporated management committee, it is difficult for teachers who have been employed for a long time to change their contracts immediately. Therefore, the most effective approach would be to include the teacher’s oath and the newly added Basic Law aptitude test in the registration requirements, and for registered teachers to renew in the next few years.

The purpose of having teachers take the oath of allegiance is to restore public confidence in our teachers again. That said, according to figures released by the EDB in May 2022, an average of 2,000 teachers resigned each year over the preceding four school years, and the provisional estimate for this school year exceeds 3,500. The EDB believes that “although the wastage rate is slightly higher this school year, the operation of schools is smooth in general and schools have employed sufficient qualified teachers”. The fact is, if teachers leave midway during the school year, or the impacted schools fail to fill their vacancies in the next school year, the extra workload will inevitably fall on the shoulders of in-service teachers. When that happens, the shortage of staff will no doubt take a toll on the remaining teachers’ energy for work.

Finally, continuous improvement of the education system is an important prerequisite for ensuring the stable development of education. If we ignore the adverse effect of subversive politics in schools, the ultimate victims will only be our next generation.

The author, an Education Bureau registered teacher, is a member of the General Committee of the Hong Kong United Youth Association.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.