Hong Kong schools have lost at least 4,050 teachers this academic year, government figures show
- Number of teachers who have left public and direct subsidy schools up by 70 per cent over figure for previous academic year
- Education minister Kevin Yeung defends wastage rate, saying schools operating smoothly and have sufficient qualified educators
The number of teachers who have left Hong Kong’s public and direct subsidy schools has risen by 70 per cent over the figure for the previous academic year, the latest figures from education authorities show.
At least 4,050 teachers, representing 7.6 per cent of the teaching workforce, have already left their jobs in the current school year, marking a 70 per cent increase from the 2,380 who quit the year before, the Education Bureau revealed on Wednesday.
The provisional dropout figure for the current school year is also a nearly twofold increase compared to four years ago.
Of the 4,050 teachers, 3,580 were from public schools and the rest were from direct subsidy schools. The provisional dropout rate for both types of institutions was 7.5 per cent and 8.4 per cent, respectively.
This coincided with a total of 3,790 teachers joining the industry in the same year, additions that accounted for 7.1 per cent of the overall manpower.
The bureau said the dropouts include those who retired, resigned to pursue further studies, moved to private or international schools, changed professions or left due to other personal reasons, but it did not reveal how many educators were in the respective groups.
The latest figures only covered those teaching at public and direct subsidy schools, while staff at private or international schools were not included. The bureau also did not collect information on the lengths of service of the educators who had left.
