Berliner Boersenzeitung - 'Submit or quit': Teacher, student brain drain hits Hong Kong schools

EUR -
AED 3.849531
AFN 71.26801
ALL 97.489577
AMD 407.133958
ANG 1.888735
AOA 957.394851
ARS 1052.235814
AUD 1.609184
AWG 1.889117
AZN 1.791112
BAM 1.948361
BBD 2.11583
BDT 125.23708
BGN 1.955359
BHD 0.395016
BIF 3036.735477
BMD 1.048054
BND 1.408323
BOB 7.241353
BRL 6.093912
BSD 1.047904
BTN 88.545444
BWP 14.307376
BYN 3.429805
BYR 20541.851716
BZD 2.112535
CAD 1.464126
CDF 3007.913807
CHF 0.929383
CLF 0.036979
CLP 1020.374446
CNY 7.58351
CNH 7.604227
COP 4600.169523
CRC 532.71786
CUC 1.048054
CUP 27.773422
CVE 110.700709
CZK 25.372333
DJF 186.259983
DKK 7.459244
DOP 63.303486
DZD 140.007168
EGP 52.063095
ERN 15.720805
ETB 129.33436
FJD 2.406641
FKP 0.827247
GBP 0.832107
GEL 2.855927
GGP 0.827247
GHS 16.611633
GIP 0.827247
GMD 74.411853
GNF 9044.703289
GTQ 8.090113
GYD 219.262881
HKD 8.156703
HNL 26.384765
HRK 7.476038
HTG 137.59468
HUF 411.518243
IDR 16686.95315
ILS 3.893142
IMP 0.827247
INR 88.546488
IQD 1373.47432
IRR 44128.299527
ISK 146.119923
JEP 0.827247
JMD 166.434573
JOD 0.743174
JPY 161.922177
KES 135.721253
KGS 90.647778
KHR 4244.617195
KMF 492.218524
KPW 943.247896
KRW 1467.647167
KWD 0.322423
KYD 0.873366
KZT 519.705991
LAK 23015.258108
LBP 93853.205449
LKR 304.92583
LRD 188.911965
LSL 18.979978
LTL 3.09463
LVL 0.633958
LYD 5.119716
MAD 10.495157
MDL 19.084139
MGA 4895.458406
MKD 61.536096
MMK 3404.037402
MNT 3561.286277
MOP 8.401263
MRU 41.833101
MUR 48.629757
MVR 16.192506
MWK 1819.421082
MXN 21.389077
MYR 4.679539
MZN 66.973014
NAD 18.980034
NGN 1775.591527
NIO 38.557996
NOK 11.596507
NPR 141.673109
NZD 1.78734
OMR 0.403491
PAB 1.047999
PEN 3.977392
PGK 4.219989
PHP 61.814724
PKR 291.266876
PLN 4.34356
PYG 8225.282947
QAR 3.815701
RON 4.977107
RSD 117.009991
RUB 106.166872
RWF 1436.881566
SAR 3.934587
SBD 8.757045
SCR 14.317421
SDG 630.390661
SEK 11.590944
SGD 1.411131
SHP 0.827247
SLE 23.670312
SLL 21977.166166
SOS 598.957702
SRD 37.106378
STD 21692.594729
SVC 9.16999
SYP 2633.266111
SZL 18.99125
THB 36.403062
TJS 11.161487
TMT 3.678668
TND 3.304543
TOP 2.454645
TRY 36.144389
TTD 7.11384
TWD 34.114983
TZS 2779.814551
UAH 43.266675
UGX 3872.069131
USD 1.048054
UYU 44.658222
UZS 13498.931116
VES 48.495894
VND 26644.144146
VUV 124.427036
WST 2.925737
XAF 653.462161
XAG 0.034053
XAU 0.000392
XCD 2.832418
XDR 0.799448
XOF 651.889416
XPF 119.331742
YER 261.9079
ZAR 18.971032
ZMK 9433.736719
ZMW 28.899665
ZWL 337.472851
  • RBGPF

    -0.5000

    59.69

    -0.84%

  • BCC

    2.9500

    140.36

    +2.1%

  • SCS

    -0.0300

    13.04

    -0.23%

  • RYCEF

    0.1800

    6.79

    +2.65%

  • RELX

    0.6500

    45.76

    +1.42%

  • GSK

    0.3500

    33.7

    +1.04%

  • RIO

    0.1800

    62.57

    +0.29%

  • CMSC

    0.1200

    24.64

    +0.49%

  • BTI

    -0.1000

    36.98

    -0.27%

  • JRI

    0.0000

    13.23

    0%

  • NGG

    -0.1700

    63.1

    -0.27%

  • VOD

    -0.1000

    8.84

    -1.13%

  • BCE

    -0.3200

    26.68

    -1.2%

  • BP

    0.4400

    29.52

    +1.49%

  • CMSD

    0.1850

    24.445

    +0.76%

  • AZN

    1.0600

    64.26

    +1.65%

'Submit or quit': Teacher, student brain drain hits Hong Kong schools
'Submit or quit': Teacher, student brain drain hits Hong Kong schools / Photo: ISAAC LAWRENCE - AFP/File

'Submit or quit': Teacher, student brain drain hits Hong Kong schools

As Hong Kong students return for the new academic year, veteran teacher Wong is counting down the days until the political maelstrom sweeping the city leaves him no choice but to quit.

Text size:

Wong, 34, fears he will soon join the exodus of teachers and students triggered by Beijing's tightening grip on Hong Kong, which has started transforming local schools, according to multiple educators.

The latest government figures show more than 4,000 teachers left their jobs in the past school year, a five-year high and a 70 percent spike from the year before.

"I have no faith in the future of Hong Kong or that of the industry. It is hard to nurture a person in this environment," Wong, who asked to use just his surname, told AFP.

The political crackdown has coincided with the coronavirus pandemic, during which Hong Kong has kept strict zero-Covid rules that have fuelled further departures.

Students have pulled out of school in droves, with 30,000 fewer attending primary and secondary school in September 2021 compared to the preceding October.

Wong, who has taught for more than a decade, said five teenagers from his class of 32 withdrew halfway through a term to emigrate.

"The students are leaving not because they dislike the school, but because of Hong Kong's environment."

- Patriotic classrooms -

China is remoulding once outspoken Hong Kong in its own authoritarian image, following massive and sometimes violent democracy protests in 2019 in which youngsters played a key part.

Teachers have since been ordered to instil patriotism in students and comply with a Beijing-imposed national security law that has criminalised much dissent.

Curriculums are being tweaked to align more closely with Chinese Communist Party ideology.

Earlier this month teachers were told to "study and learn the key messages" of a recent speech by President Xi Jinping.

Students and parents have also been encouraged to report teachers who might be breaching the security law.

Wong received a letter of reprimand from Hong Kong's Education Bureau last year after his teaching materials analysing the pros and cons of civil disobedience drew anonymous complaints.

"It shattered the trust that was fundamental to teaching," he recalled.

Between 2019 and 2021, Hong Kong authorities received 344 complaints against teachers in relation to the democracy protests, with 55 percent of cases found to be substantiated.

One high-school principal told AFP he would instruct staff to keep their heads down and comply with government guidelines to the letter.

"Everyone is being very careful... If some (teaching materials) may touch on political sensitivities, then we'll skirt around it," said the principal, who requested anonymity.

"Nobody wants trouble and the teachers don't want to be held personally responsible."

- Lower standards? -

Authorities have rejected the idea of an emigration wave and argue teachers choose to leave their posts for various reasons, including retirement and further study.

Hong Kong's education chief said schools were generally operating smoothly and there were enough qualified teachers despite a "slightly higher" attrition rate.

But a recent survey of 140 schools showed each institution on average lost 32 students and seven teachers over the past year.

Newspaper Ming Pao surveyed its classified section and found at least 200 schools were still looking for teachers in late July. In previous years most vacancies would be filled by the end of May.

Administrators say some schools have been forced to hire less-qualified candidates.

Schools are also competing to poach students, as their headcount often determines their government subsidies and protects against closure.

And education is not the only sector affected by brain drain.

The city's labour force has dropped about six percent since 2018 to 3.75 million people, according to the latest official figures, the lowest number in nearly a decade.

A new generation of Hong Kong teachers are now weighing options and assessing risks that come with their careers.

University graduate Mak, 23, has spent a year teaching English at a secondary school even though he does not have a teacher's diploma -- a fact his employer did not seem to mind.

"I'll continue teaching for the next few years, but not necessarily in the long term," he said.

Mak feels he has little control over what happens to his profession.

"There's not much that can be changed," he sighed. "You either submit, or quit."

(F.Schuster--BBZ)