Hong Kong school principals under pressure after education chief warns they could lose jobs over handling of protest-related complaints, group warns
- Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung had said head teachers deemed unsuitable over their handling of protest-related complaints could face axe
- Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools says Education Bureau should trust principals
One of Hong Kong’s biggest school heads’ associations said on Monday that principals felt pressured by the education chief’s remarks that they would be disqualified if they were deemed unsuitable for their job when handling protest-related misconduct complaints against teachers.
The Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools also accused Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung of failing to spell out what unsuitable meant, and urged his bureau to have trust in principals’ professionalism.
Yeung made the comments in an interview with online news outlet Shanghai Observer, operated by Communist Party newspaper Jiefang Daily, on the ongoing anti-government protests.
When asked how his bureau would act if schools or heads did not cooperate when probing protest-related complaints against teachers, Yeung said the permanent secretary for education had the power to disqualify principals who were not up to the job.
Under the Education Ordinance, the permanent secretary may withdraw a principal’s appointment approval for failure to perform duties satisfactorily, or for being unacceptable to most of the school’s managers.
