Part VI The Role of the Education Department and the Church

A. The correct" chronology

Though it was the teachers who first exposed the finan-

cial irregularities of the school, the Education Department

stressed again and again that it was on April 12, 1977 that

the School Management first reported the case to them. The

teachers only made their complaint on April 22, 1977.

The extra-ordinary stress on the "correct" chronology

issued by the Education Department, no doubt, was a deliberate

move to mislead the public by which it gave the following im-

plications: .

1. The teachers used the financial problems as an excuse to

cause trouble, when the school authorities asked them to

sign more restrictive contracts.

2. No revengeful action and the subsequent persecutions on

the teachers could be implied as it was the board of Manage-

ment that exposed the irregularities, and Miss Hilda Kwan's

measures, therefore, had nothing to do with revenge.

B. The New Contracts

After the exposure of the misappropiation of school

funds, more restrictive contracts were drafted by the school

managers, one of whom was an Education Department representative. The new contract gave the school Management Committee the power

to dismiss teachers or terminate their contracts without com-

plying with the Code of Aid for Secondary Schools. This was

the first step taken to revenge on the teachers.

C. The Warning Letters

The students staged a 2-day sit-in to request the school '

to clarify the financial irregularities. The Director of Edu-

cation, without giving a shred of evidence, issued 35 warning

letters to all the teachers of the s chool, threatening to de-

prive them of their livelihood since it "appeared" to the Di-

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