Political Pressure Mounts, Hong Kong Teacher Losses Hits 5-Year High

A teacher introduces himself to the students in a classroom at a secondary school, during the first day of the new term, in Hong Kong on Sept. 1, 2021. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

The latest figures provided by the Hong Kong Education Bureau show that the number of teachers lost in Hong Kong has increased significantly in the new academic year, hitting a five-year high.

Teachers say they now are forced to “educate” their students according to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) so-called National Security Law, which include content for “National Security Education.” They have to be cautious with existing teaching materials, as some of that content can no longer be taught.

Many said that even activities like assigning students to collect and discuss newspaper clippings was risky, as they all needed to be very careful about what they say. At the same time, teachers say they are worried about receiving complaints from pro-communist parents.

Many expressed losing confidence in the academic freedom of the education sector, as well as facing increasing pressure and anxiety. Many said they would soon have no choice but to move abroad.

Professional insiders have revealed that attrition numbers might increase as some teachers are still considering resignation.

According to the latest figures released by the Hong Kong Education Bureau on May 11, in the 2021/2022 academic year, the number of teachers to leave public sector and Direct Subsidy Scheme schools (DSS) in the city hit a five-year high. Among them, 3,580 teachers left public sector schools, and 470 left DSS schools, accounting for 7.5 percent and 8.4 percent of the total number of teachers respectively—70 percent more than the resignations in the previous academic year.

Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, Hong Kong’s secretary for education, also acknowledged that “the rate of teacher attrition is slightly higher this academic year.”

Dion Chen, chairman of the DSS Schools Council, told the Hong Kong Economic Times that more teachers have left the academic community in recent years, and they are not limited to specific seniority. He said bluntly, “there is not much the school can do” but the education sector needs teachers to protect the youth together. If there are more senior teachers lost, it will give rise to a succession problem.

According to a survey report released in May last year by the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union (HKPTU), which was forced to disband in August last year, about 40 percent of the teachers said they wished to leave the education sector. As for the reasons of resigning, 70 percent interviewed said that “growing political pressure” was the main reason; 50 percent said they are not satisfied with the social situation in Hong Kong; and nearly 40 percent said they are not satisfied with Hong Kong’s education policy.

Mr. Wong, a teacher from a subsidized school, told The Epoch Times in an interview that many teachers were moving abroad, citing push factors of the implementation of Beijing’s National Security Law, and a loss of confidence in the sector as much of the existing content can no longer be taught.

Mr. Lee, who has already emigrated, told The Epoch Times that in recent years, school principals and other senior management often reminded teachers to be careful when speaking, as national security personnel were observing whether teachers were wearing black during school’s flag-raising ceremonies.

The data shows that from 2019 to 2021, the education bureau received a total of 445 complaints about teachers’ professional conduct. Of these, 235 were recognized, of which 189 were related to the anti-extradition protests. As a result, the bureau cancelled the registration of seven teachers, including one who was accused of “spreading Hong Kong independence” for designing school-based textbooks on the topic of the Hong Kong National Party, which was banned by the authorities.

‘National Security Education’ in Universities, Middle Schools, Primary Schools

While Hong Kong teachers are facing increasing political pressure, the CCP is also pushing its brainwashing methods used on mainland Chinese students onto Hong Kong students.

In February last year, the Hong Kong authorities announced that they would reform the Hong Kong school curriculum, adding elements related to China’s national security in almost every subject. For example, in geography, students are required to recognize that the South China Sea “is a part of China’s territory”—a position contested by the international community.

Hong Kong’s largest disbanded teachers’ union, HKPTU, had opposed the government’s push for National Security Education. Fung Wai-wah, the then-president of the HKPTU, believed that the content imposed by the government in different subjects was far-fetched and did not meet original curriculum goals.

The authorities have also changed the subject of Liberal Studies to the so-called Citizenship and Social Development, reducing material that teaches independent critical thinking. It also requires students to study for a period in mainland China.

The Liberal Studies curriculum had been aimed at encouraging students to deepen their understanding of themselves, society, their country, and the world in order to think from multiple perspectives on current issues. But it was criticized by the CCP’s official media for being “anti-China” and for planting ideas that “disrupt Hong Kong.”

The Hong Kong Education Bureau on April 15 last year notified all schools that the CCP required new Hong Kong National Security Law textbooks to be distributed to primary and secondary schools throughout Hong Kong, The textbook serves as a reference book for all schools.