Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung has tasked schools to suspend Hong Kong teachers arrested for serious offenses, in accordance with the employment ordinance.
Yeung said the bureau had taken more rigorous action against this minor group of educators out of concern for students’ safety.
According to Yeung, the recent civil unrest was made up of over 40 percent of students out of the 6,000 people arrested.
The Secretary for education stated that the Education Bureau had received over 123 complaints of protest-related misconduct against teachers from mid-June till late November.
He added that the bureau also affirms that it will follow up on each case where a teacher’s professional ethics are in question and will consider revoking the teacher’s certification on conviction of serious offenses.
Yeung said most of the complaints received were related to hate speech or provocative acts, while others involved inappropriate teaching materials or violation of the law.
Out of 123 complaints, 74 cases completed
Yeung said 80 Hong Kong teachers and teaching assistants had been arrested so far. The bureau did not mention how many of those detained had been subject of a complaint.
Although, he revealed that four teachers had been suspended by their schools, including a teacher charged with possession of a weapon, and a government-school teacher accused of using bias teaching materials.
Among the 123 complaints, investigations had been completed in 74 cases, with wrongdoing confirmed in 13 of those. They dismissed in another 30, and six teachers were given a warning, while seven others were issued with advisory letters. The remaining cases were initially substantiated, but some are still being reviewed.
Apart from the disciplinary action, Yeung said some schools had also taken other action against the accused Hong Kong teachers like a demotion, postponement of salary increase, or transferring the teachers to another post.
Hong Kong teachers Union reaction
Ip Kin-yuen, an education sector lawmaker and vice-president of the pro-democracy Professional Teachers’ Union, accused the bureau of not providing clear guidelines on what constitutes hate speech, or provocative acts. Noting that many of the current cases involved comments teachers had shared privately with friends on social media platforms.
The pro-establishment Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers has also released a statement in agreement with the fact that the bureau should make public the reasons for punishing a teacher in each case.
Ip Kin-yuen, further noted that the union would provide help to teachers who were suspended, or had resigned.
Former H’Kong leader slams education chief
Former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-Ying has released a statement accusing the city’s education chief of mishandling the sector concerning the anti-government movement.
Leung lashed out at the Education Minister on Facebook demanding a more genuine meaning of performance from his sector regarding the Hong Kong teachers under review.
