Concerns About Training For Teachers Played Down

An advisory body has played down concerns about the Education Bureau’s (EDB) move to train new teachers about their role, but education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen said he fears a political motive behind the government plan.

In a circular on Thursday, the government had said that from the upcoming school year, new teachers will have to take part in at least 90 hours of courses related to their professional roles, values and conduct, as well as education policies in Hong Kong.

The pro-Beijing Federation of Education Workers backed the move, saying they didn’t think it was related to the current social unrest, while the pro-democracy Professional Teachers' Union raised concerns.

Taking part in RTHK’s Millennium programme on Friday, Sylvia Chan, a member of the Committee on Professional Development of Teachers and Principals, said it’s good for the EDB to standardise training on such matters.

She said the committee didn't suggest which party should offer this kind of training. But she said there will be an advantage for EDB to do it, because it can convey a consistent message to all teachers.

But education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen, talking after taking part in the programme, questioned if there were political motives behind the EDB move, as the new teachers have already been trained by tertiary institutions.

He said he is worried that the EDB training teachers will be to try to brainwash them.

Ip said the training should be school-based to help new teachers adapt to local situations instead of duplicating professional values courses that they've already had in schools.