Two teachers lose licenses and dozens more reprimanded amid complaints about misconduct
Two Hong Kong teachers have had their professional licenses revoked and 28 more have received letters of reprimand from the Education Bureau in response to complaints about their conduct during the city’s social unrest.
The bureau received a total of 269 complaints alleging professional misconduct by teachers between June 2019 and December 2020, of which 95 were found to be without merit. As a result of the remaining complaints, two teachers had their licenses revoked, 28 received letters of reprimand and 24 more received written warnings telling them they must uphold their professional integrity.
Education Secretary Kevin Yeung disclosed the figures while taking questions at a Legislative Council meeting, during which lawmaker Holden Chow asked whether the bureau could stipulate that teachers could be suspended from duty if they were found to have participated in riots or unlawful assemblies.
Yeung said that if a teacher was found to be involved in serious criminal proceedings or serious misconduct, the school could suspend him or her in accordance with employment laws and regulations.
Chow asked why the bureau did not require schools to remove teachers who had been suspected of misconduct but had not been convicted of crimes. Yeung replied that this was not an easy decision for schools to make, and they must consider the seriousness of each case.
The most important consideration is whether or not the safety and education of students would be affected, Yeung added. He said that a school may suspend teachers from duty in cases where it believed there would be adverse effects or threats to student safety. Alternatively, the school could reassign the teacher to duties that do not involve contact with students, Yeung said.
Last October, it emerged that the Education Bureau had revoked the license of a teacher who had allegedly spread pro-independence messages through teaching materials and worksheets. It was the first case in Hong Kong of a teaching license being revoked for this reason.
Click
here for Chinese version
---------------------------------
Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app:
bit.ly/2yMMfQETo download the latest version,
Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play