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LCQ2: Chinese and English language teachers of primary and secondary schools
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    Following is a question by the Hon Jeffrey Lam and a reply by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Miss Denise Yue, (in the absence of the Secretary for Education) in the Legislative Council today (June 18):

Question:

    Starting from the 2004/05 school year, new Chinese and English language teachers of primary and secondary schools must hold a Bachelor of Education degree majoring in the relevant language subject, or both a first or higher degree majoring in the relevant language subject and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education or Postgraduate Certificate in Education majoring in the same language subject.  Language teachers without the above qualifications have to acquire them within three to five years of their entry into the profession.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) among the new language teachers recruited in each of the school years after the introduction of the above qualification requirements, of the respective numbers and percentages of them having such qualifications when they joined the profession, together with a breakdown by primary versus secondary schools and the language subjects they teach; of the number of new teachers who have failed to acquire the relevant qualifications within the stated period and the number of them who are thus disallowed to continue teaching the relevant subjects;

(b) among the serving language teachers who joined the profession before the 2004/05 school year, of the number and percentage of them who have not yet acquired the relevant qualifications, together with a breakdown by the types of their schools and the language subjects they teach; whether the Administration has planned to set a deadline for these teachers to acquire the relevant qualifications; if not, of the reasons for that; and

(c) since the 2004/05 school year, of the number of serving language teachers who have fulfilled the relevant qualification requirements by taking recognized courses, and the situation of their applying for grants of tuition under the Professional Development Incentive Grant Scheme for Language Teachers, set up pursuant to the proposal of the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research, including the respective numbers of applications received and approved each year?

Reply:

Madam President,

    On the first part of the question, the Education and Manpower Bureau (EDB) issued a circular in March 2004, specifying the qualification requirements for language teachers.  From 2004/05 school year onwards, new language teachers in secondary and primary schools should possess a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree majoring in the relevant language subject,  or both a first / higher degree and a Postgraduate Diploma / Certificate in Education majoring in the relevant language subject.  EDB has also specified that language teachers without the above qualifications have to acquire them within three to five years after their entry into the profession.

    Statistics in respect of teachers joining since 2004/05 school year, including the number and percentage of teachers who have acquired the relevant qualifications when they joined the profession and the number of those who have not acquired the relevant qualifications within the specified period, are set out in the table at Appendix I.  Schools have been clearly advised that when offering an appointment to new language teachers without the required qualifications, they should set conditions in the employment contract that the teachers concerned must acquire the qualifications within three or five years.  Schools have been required to plan the professional development of these teachers and report progress to their school management. There has been no requirement for schools to deploy language teachers to teach other subjects if they do not attain the required qualifications within the specified timeframe.

    Turning to the second part of the question, statistics on the qualifications of the teachers who joined the profession before 2004/05 school year are set out in the table at Appendix 2.  The Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) observed that when it conducted the public consultation on the "Action Plan to Raise Language Standards in Hong Kong" in 2003, the majority of respondents objected strongly to the setting of a deadline for serving teachers to acquire the relevant qualifications.  As a result, the "Action Plan" did not recommend that a deadline should be set for these serving teachers to acquire the relevant qualifications.  The Administration decided that no deadline should be set for these serving language teachers.

    As regards the third part of the question, 4,632 serving teachers who joined the profession before 2004/05 school year have fulfilled the required qualification requirements by taking recognized programmes of study.

    The Professional Development Incentive Grant Scheme (PDIGS) aims to encourage serving Chinese and English Language teachers who joined the profession before 2004/05 to enhance their subject knowledge and pedagogy in the language they teach.  It provides financial incentives for serving language teachers to pursue relevant programmes of study.  Teachers who already possess the relevant qualifications may also apply for the grants.  Upon the successful completion of the approved programme of study, each applicant may receive 50% of the tuition fee, up to a maximum of HK$30,000.  The application details of PDIGS are set out in the table at Appendix 3.

    Thank you, President.

Ends/Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Issued at HKT 15:31

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