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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Fernando Cheung and a reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in the Legislative Council today (November 27):
Question:
Recently, there have been a few incidents in which students were bullied, beaten up and indecently assaulted by teaching staff, and more than one school was involved. According to the Code for the Education Profession of Hong Kong, a member of the education profession, in the course of his teaching, should have concern for students' safety, seek to establish confidence and trust grounded on mutual respect between himself and the students, and avoid making students feel embarrassed or ashamed. In addition, according to the guidelines of the Education Bureau (EDB) regarding the safety of students, the school should provide a safe learning environment for students to protect their physical and mental health and safety. Under section 62(f) of the Code of Aid for Special Schools and section 57(f) of the Code of Aid for Secondary Schools/Primary Schools, the School Management Committee (SMC) may suspend a teacher from his duties if he is involved in criminal proceedings of a serious nature, or if he is under investigation for serious misconduct and it would be against the interest of the school for him to continue to teach in the classroom. However, such provisions do not require the school to consider the interest of students, and are implemented by SMC rather than EDB. SMC may therefore decide that the teacher concerned be allowed to continue teaching and there is no need to suspend his duties. On the other hand, the monitoring of teachers' professional conduct is currently under the purview of the Council on Professional Conduct in Education (CPC) under EDB, but CPC has no real power and will only advise the Permanent Secretary for Education on cases of misconduct involving educators. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the existing procedures and guidelines for schools to handle incidents in which teachers and other staff members are suspected of bullying students, and the respective power and responsibilities of EDB, SMCs and school principals in such incidents; whether the Government will amend the legislation to stipulate that if a teacher is involved in a serious incident of bullying or suspected of having committed a criminal offence, EDB may, in the interest of students, directly order the school concerned to suspend the teacher concerned from his duties; if it will, of the timetable and details; if not, the reasons for that;
(b) whether the authorities will make reference to the mechanisms for regulating the conduct of professionals such as social workers, lawyers, doctors and nurses, and set up an independent organization to regulate the professional conduct of teachers in place of the current arrangements; if they will, of the timetable and details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) of the number of complaints received by EDB in the past 10 years about teachers allegedly bullying students and, among them, the number of cases substantiated, and the penalties imposed on the teachers concerned?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the Dr Hon Fernando Cheung's question is as follows:
(a) School is the place where students learn and grow. The Education Bureau (EDB) will not tolerate any act of teaching staff that impairs the physical/psychological health or safety of students. Schools are required to implement proactive measures to prevent such kind of incidents.
The Codes of Aid and Code of Aid for Special Schools are formulated under the framework of the Education Ordinance (Cap 279). The Education Ordinance provides that the management committee of a school shall be responsible for ensuring that the school is managed satisfactorily and the education of the pupils is promoted in a proper manner. The principal of a school shall, subject to the directions of the management committee, be responsible for the teaching and discipline of the school and for such purposes shall have authority over the teaching staff and pupils of the school.
In order to create a caring school environment and safeguard the interests of students, the EDB has compiled the School Administration Guide and regularly issued circulars to provide schools with clear guidelines on student affairs, including discipline, student behaviour, home-school cooperation, and handling of bullying in school and suspected child abuse cases.
At the implementation level, the EDB has required schools to formulate and implement strategies to ensure the safety of students at school. If students are found being abused, schools should follow the Procedural Guide for Handling Child Abuse Cases issued by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and consult the SWD or the Child Abuse Investigation Team of the Police Force for appropriate actions. For cases in which criminal offence may be involved, schools should report to the Police. For cases in which misconduct of a teaching staff member is substantiated, the School Management Committee (SMC) or Incorporated Management Committee (IMC) as the employer may, depending on the seriousness of the incident, take disciplinary actions as appropriate against the teaching staff concerned in accordance with the requirements of the Codes of Aid and Employment Ordinance. Such disciplinary actions may include issuing a verbal or written warning, withholding the annual increment, suspending the teacher from normal duties, executing dismissal or even summary dismissal. As the interests of students is always at the heart of the daily operation of a school, it is natural that the interests of students would be the key consideration when the school management determines what types of disciplinary action is to be taken against the teaching staff who have committed misconduct.
The EDB will decide whether to initiate direct investigation in the light of the nature and seriousness of the incident. If investigation finds the teacher concerned to have violated the Education Ordinance or other legislation, the EDB will refer the case to the Police for follow up. Depending on the circumstances of each case, the EDB may issue written recommendations to the SMC or IMC concerned and require the school management to submit a follow-up report on the implementation of the evaluation and improvement measures recommended by the EDB, and to review the relevant disciplinary actions.
Furthermore, according to Section 41 of the Education Ordinance, the Permanent Secretary for Education may, where necessary, directly appoint any persons she thinks fit to be managers of a school to assist the school in the effective implementation of the EDB's recommendations and further support the school management in carrying out its monitoring and administration functions. In addition, upon conclusion of the case, the EDB will take appropriate follow-up actions against the teacher concerned, for instance issuing a warning or advisory letter to him/her or considering cancellation of his/her registration as a teacher.
The existing Education Ordinance and Education Regulations have already stipulated the respective authority of the EDB, the management committee of schools and the school principals. We have no plan to amend the relevant provisions.
(b) The proposal of establishing an independent organisation for regulating the professional conduct of teachers will have far-reaching impact on the education sector. It is necessary for the sector to have a thorough grasp of the details regarding its functions, roles, composition, mode of operation and operating expenses, etc and indicate its full endorsement and support as well. The role and functions of the proposed organisation should also fit in the education landscape in Hong Kong. The Government is not in a position to set any timetable before the sector has reached a consensus on the matter.
(c) Since the current classification of complaints is different from the past, we can only provide figures on complaints against teachers over alleged bullying for the past four years. According to our available records, a total of 37 complaints were received against aided school teachers over alleged bullying of students in the past four school years, of which 20 were unsubstantiated, 11 partially substantiated, three substantiated and three are still being processed. For the substantiated complaint cases, apart from the disciplinary actions against the teachers taken by the SMCs or IMCs concerned, the EDB will also take appropriate follow-up actions, including issuing a warning or advisory letter to the teachers concerned, in the light of the nature and seriousness of the cases.
Ends/Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:06
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