TNAG-0658-FCO40-807-Policy-of-Government-of-Hong-Kong-on-education-1977 — Page 13

Item 3 "Deep concern about the number of untrained teachers"

The figures for untrained teachers quoted by the Education Action Group are misleading for two reasons; they make no distinction between the public and private sectors, and they include untrained university graduates who, in Hong Kong, as in many other countries, are considered suitable for teaching. The actual figures at March 1977 were:-

Kindergarten

Primary

Secondary

Type of teacher

Private

Govt./aided Private Govt./aided

Private

Trained university

41

319

87 1,453

693

graduate

Trained non-

719

15,637

450

1,706

1,100

graduate

760

15.956

537

3,159

1,793

(17.3%)

(95%)

(18.5%)

(67%)

(21.4%)

Untrained

112

651

215

1,452

3,695

university

graduate

Untrained non-

3,523

180

2,156

106

2,872

graduate

3,635

831

2,371

1,558

6,567

(82.7%)

(5%) (81.5%)

(33%)

(78.6%)

4,395

16,787

2,908 4,717

8,360

19,695

13,077

Kindergartens

2.

All kindergartens are privately operated, although the Education Department provides assistance and guidance as well as carrying out regular inspections, With the high priority placed first on primary and then on secondary education over the last decade, it has not been possible for Government to allocate financial resources to the pre-primary sector, but a reconsideration of this position will be made in the forthcoming Review of Primary Education.

Primary

3.

Only 1.1% of teachers in the public sector are untrained non-graduates. Since 1971, there have been sufficient free places in the public sector for all children of primary school age.