By Fiona Sun,William Yiu

Copyright scmp

Hong Kong’s No 2 official has said a proposed requirement for teachers to obtain a practising certificate was intended to help them and “not to make things difficult”, while the education minister has dismissed concerns from some in the sector about a lack of consultation over the initiative.
Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki said on Friday the certificate was aimed at ensuring teachers had the latest knowledge and avoiding a situation where they might leave the profession for an extended period and rejoin without taking continuing education.
Education minister Christine Choi Yuk-lin explained the government had reviewed the lifetime registration system for teachers amid growing expectations for the role and the issuance of the certificate would be based on whether they had practised in the field and complied with the code of ethics.
Chan said it was important to maintain teachers’ professionalism at a certain level as the government attached great importance to the role.
He questioned whether a teacher who had been out of the classroom for a long time, such as a decade or longer, would still be connected to the profession and have the latest knowledge.
“Our aim of the practising certificate system is not to make things difficult for teachers but to maintain their level of professionalism,” he said. “We are helping teachers maintain a good professional level for the sake of our students and education, and not to make things difficult for teachers.”
He noted that other professions such as social workers and lawyers had to attend some in-service courses.

Hong Kong had 160,000 registered teachers, with 70,000 practising at present, according to Choi. The government would consider whether to issue a certificate to those who were still in the field but not teaching.
“Like me, I am a registered teacher but I am not working in schools,” she said.
The bureau would consult and seek legal advice on the matter, she said, adding continuing professional education and meeting the code of ethics would be part of the criteria.
The measure was not included in the main speech by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in his policy address on Wednesday, but it was listed in the chapter on education in the supplementary booklet.
Chan said the supplement was an elaboration of the policy address, while Choi stressed that what mattered was to bring up the message and not where to list the initiative.
Sector leaders earlier said they were not consulted on such an important initiative before the announcement, but Choi said the proposal was made after some lawmakers suggested reviewing the teachers’ registration system.
“It is not a new thing; we have a consensus. We promised that we would study and review at a suitable time,” she said.
In November 2022, lawmaker Tommy Cheung Yu-yan asked in the legislature whether the bureau would review the existing mechanism for the registration of teachers and require them to regularly pass examinations and pursue further studies.
“The contents of which should include the understanding of the nation and national affairs, in order to be eligible for renewal of the registration, so as to increase the incentives for teachers to make improvement and lay a solid foundation for the effective implementation of patriotism education,” he said at the time.
Choi replied the government kept an open mind on the matter.