Teacher Struck Off For Pro-independence Messages

The Education Bureau has cancelled the registration of a school teacher it says used pro-Hong Kong independence materials in class.

The teacher is believed to have worked at the Alliance Primary School in Kowloon Tong.

The bureau said the teacher had deliberately disseminated pro-independence messages in what was a premeditated act, rather than just “momentary negligence”.

It said the information shared in the classroom was biased and distorted and the teacher had seriously damaged the students.

The bureau added that the teacher had been given ample time to seek legal advice and make representations and had subsequently been struck off to protect the interests of the students and to ensure public confidence in the teaching profession.

The principal and vice-principals at the school, meanwhile, were given reprimands for what the bureau said was their “poor supervision”, while other teachers at the school were given warning letters over the lesson plans and teaching materials they had used.

The bureau said the school had also punished the teachers in accordance with the existing mechanism, which includes suspensions or postponement of salary increases, and some of the staff had left their jobs.

Officials have warned for a few years now that any teachers advocating independence risk being struck off, but this is believed to be the first time a teacher has been stripped of their licence after being accused of doing so.