Teachers Need Independent Body: Ip Kin-yuen

The lawmaker representing the education sector, Ip Kin-yuen, has demanded that the authorities set up an independent statutory body to handle complaints against teachers.

Speaking on RTHK’s Letter to Hong Kong programme, Ip said the recent de-registration of a teacher accused of preparing using materials in class that promoted Hong Kong independence had exposed the inherent opacity of the Education Bureau’s operations.

"At present, regulatory matters relating to teachers are predominated by EDB, an executive organisation taking charge of the entire procedure of investigations, adjudications, and the meting out of penalties," Ip said.

"More than 60 percent of respondents in a recent public opinion survey considered that cancelling the teacher’s registration was a political decision."

Ip said the government should look at the way regulatory bodies operate in other professions.

"By reference to the way in which other professions in Hong Kong, including doctors, nurses, social workers, lawyers and accountants are regulated, I requested EDB to establish an independent statutory body to handle matters including registrations and complaints with self-regulation as the basic principle," Ip said.

The decision to cancel the registration of the teacher, who worked at a primary school in Kowloon Tong, raised concerns about freedom of speech in the SAR.

At the time, the EDB said the teacher's decision to use pro-Hong Kong independence materials was a premeditated act, rather than just "momentary negligence", while the Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, said the deregistering of the teacher was only done after a thorough probe by the EDB.