In Hong Kong, two teachers have been “branded” for alleged professional misconduct since the anti-sending campaign. On Friday, the media cited news that a government school teacher was accused of using inappropriate and biased teaching materials, and the Education Bureau is said to be considering the cancellation of his teacher registration, which is expected to become the first case of government school teachers being “crucified”. The Hong Kong Education Bureau said the case is being handled under the civil service disciplinary mechanism, meaning the teacher may be dismissed. The Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union (HKPTU), which has 96,670 members, believes the case is clearly politically motivated.
The pro-establishment newspaper Sing Tao Daily cited news on Friday (15) that a teacher teaching in a government secondary school in Kowloon East, allegedly using “inappropriate and biased teaching materials”, was earlier suspended by the Bureau under investigation, it is said that the relevant investigation has been completed, the Education Bureau is considering the cancellation of his teacher registration, meaning that he may become the first government school teacher to be nailed for the anti-sending campaign.
The report said that the Education Bureau will be referred to the Civil Service Bureau to hold a disciplinary hearing. Once ruled misconduct, serious will be forced to retire and dismissed.
The news that the teachers involved belong to the Long Xiang government school: not clear about the case
In December 2019, Ming Pao has cited news that a teacher at Lung Cheung Government Secondary School (referred to as: Lung Cheung Government Secondary School) in Kowloon East was suspended by the bureau for misconduct in its examination papers and teaching materials.
The station tried to call Lung Cheung Government Secondary School on Friday to inquire about the matter, the school replied that it was not clear about the case, and continued to tell reporters to pay attention to the Education Bureau announcement.
The staff said: we are not clear, not clear details.
Yang Yunxiong said still in the investigation stage how to discipline is still too early to say
Secretary for Education Yang Yunxiong on Friday when interviewed by the media, did not disclose whether the secondary school involved Long Xiang Government Secondary School, only that the investigation is still underway.
Yang Yunxiong said: some cases we are still investigating, one of them I have mentioned before, there is a government secondary school teachers may use some improper or very biased or wrong teaching materials. So far we are still in the investigation stage, too early to say how we will discipline, or how the incident is too early.
He continued, if the teacher is a civil servant status, will be from the civil service regulations to deal with and punish dereliction of duty.
Government school teachers are different from subsidized schools and private schools, government school teachers are civil servants, once dismissed, will lose the right to claim pension and honorarium, etc.
The Association believes that it took a year to take action, obviously politically motivated
The president of the Association of Teachers Feng Weihua interviewed by this station, on whether the bias of teaching materials can be regarded as the reason for the dismissal of civil servants, he said it depends on the requirements of the civil service code and how the authorities interpreted, there is no reference to precedents in the past. Generally speaking, serious to be dismissed are related to criminal cases, otherwise more to transfer treatment.
If he loses his professional qualification, will he be fired from his job as a civil servant? Actually, no. Because there are other jobs in the government system that don’t require this qualification. How he (the authorities) will deal with it, there are few cases in the past. But we think that if he wants to cancel the civil service status, it is necessary to justify, because the dismissal of civil servants have their own code and procedures.
The incident is obviously politically motivated.
The case, for example, was already a year ago. Why do you say “nail” only now? In fact, will it be because the political climate has changed, now to lay a heavy hand, originally may not intend to do so. So I think whether more political considerations, rather than purely from the professional conduct and ability.
Former government school teacher thinks there is no light in the education sector
The former government school teacher Wu Mei-lan told the station that if the government school teachers were nailed for being unsuitable for education work, they could be arranged to transfer to other jobs within the school, not teaching in the school. She continued to point out that in the past, teaching in government schools did not say that special pressure or review more stringent, because teachers are generally taught according to their ability. But in the face of further liquidation of the education sector, teachers are being suppressed, she believes it is difficult to see the light.
Wu Meilan said: “It’s only going to get worse and worse. I do not see the dawn of the education sector, the future of school selection and teaching, I believe will be filtered. Teachers in general, regardless of which schools, should be quite careful in the selection of materials. Schools, vice-principals, etc. will automatically keep a check.
The spokesperson of the Education Bureau replied that the case of the government school teacher concerned is being handled according to the civil service disciplinary mechanism, and that “teachers have the important responsibility of passing on knowledge and cultivating character, and their words and actions must be in line with professional conduct and social expectations”. If the complaint is substantiated and the teacher concerned violates discipline, the Education Bureau will take appropriate follow-up actions against the government school teacher concerned according to the relevant civil service disciplinary mechanism, depending on the individual circumstances of each case.
According to the Public Service (Administration) Order, civil servants found guilty of misconduct will face reprimand, severe reprimand, fine, reduction in rank, reduction in salary, compulsory retirement and dismissal.
As of October last year, the Education Bureau had received 262 complaints of suspected professional misconduct by religious officers in social incidents, of which 226 investigations were completed and 85 were not substantiated. Of the substantiated cases, two were “nailed”, 23 and 13 others received written reprimands and warnings, 20 were given written warnings and 22 were given verbal warnings. The remaining 61 cases, which were initially considered to have a chance of being substantiated, are being processed in accordance with established procedures.
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