In the face of the recent wave of immigration, in addition to the decline in the number of primary and secondary school students, teachers have also been lost. According to statistics from the Education Bureau, immigration and other social factors have led to a rapid increase in the loss rate of primary and secondary school teachers in Hong Kong from 4-5% in the past to 7.3-8% in the last school year. In addition, the Legislative Council passed the Education Bureau’s proposal earlier in June to increase the proportion of senior teachers and increase the salaries of primary school principals, so that it is easier to attract talents to engage in primary education, which is conducive to the long-term development of education in Hong Kong. Teachers have always been a popular occupation. Besides nurturing talents, teachers have high labor costs, good benefits, and most importantly, job stability. Coupled with the huge increase in demand and the rising starting salary of new teachers, many people are interested in joining or changing careers in the education industry. Exactly how high are the requirements for being a teacher now compared to a human being? This article consolidates the latest primary and secondary teacher compensation pathways and entry qualifications.
Although there are primary and secondary schools operating in different forms in Hong Kong, including private, aided and government schools, most of them refer to the teacher remuneration system formulated by the Education Bureau for aided and government schools.
Traditionally, primary and secondary school teachers are divided into diploma teachers and graduate teachers, and their labor is very different. Diploma teachers refer to teachers who do not have a degree and are treated worse than graduate teachers. However, starting from the 2019/20 school year, the government has fully graduated teaching positions in aided and official primary and secondary schools, and diploma teachers have gradually been eliminated.
Primary and Secondary School Diploma Teacher Salary
|
Position |
Monthly Salary (HK$) |
|
Diploma teacher |
30,235-48,860 |
|
Assistant Chair |
51,095-61,415 |
|
Senior Assistant Chair |
64,270-73,775 |
As for graduate teachers, according to the graduate teacher grade classification of the Education Bureau, there are currently 5 grades for primary and secondary school teachers. The salaries are as follows:
secondary school teacher
|
Position |
Monthly Salary (HK$) |
|
Graduate teacher |
31,750-73,775 |
|
Advanced Degree Teacher |
74,515-89,845 |
|
Principal Graduate Teacher (Deputy Principal) |
85,870-97,745 |
|
Secondary Principal |
93,710-110,170 |
|
first class principal |
117,580-135,470 |
primary school teacher
|
Position |
Monthly Salary (HK$) |
|
Assistant primary school teacher |
31,750-61,415 |
|
primary school teacher |
64,270-73,775 |
|
Senior primary school graduate teacher |
74,515-75,265 |
|
Secondary Elementary School Principal |
75,265-89,845 |
|
Primary school principal |
85,870-97,745 |
In addition to the distinction between diploma and graduate teachers, there are three types of teachers: permanent, contract and civil service teachers.
|
regular teacher |
Long-term, the first two years is a probationary period, and the salary is stipulated by the Education Bureau |
|
contract teacher |
The contract must be renewed regularly. The contract period and salary are determined by the school, most of which are one-year contracts. |
|
civil servant teacher |
Teachers who teach in government schools are employed on civil service terms, and their salaries and retirement security are in accordance with government regulations |
entry requirements
According to government regulations, anyone teaching in a school must be a certified teacher or a licensed teacher. In order to hold teaching qualifications, accredited teachers must complete a 4-year university education degree program. If you have not taken an education course at a university, you can also take a 1-year full-time or 2-year part-time postgraduate diploma course following graduating from the university.
General Government Assistant Primary School Entry Requirements Candidates hold a Hong Kong bachelor’s degree in Primary Education or equivalent. In addition, candidates are required to obtain “Level 2” results in the two language papers (Use of Chinese and Use of English) in the Common Recruitment Examination, or have equivalent language results. In addition, eligible candidates must have passed the Basic Law and Hong Kong National Security Law test and passed the Sexual Conviction Record Check. The Basic Law and the Hong Kong National Security Law tests the applicant’s knowledge of the Basic Law and the Hong Kong National Security Law. There are 20 multiple-choice questions in the whole volume. The passing score is 10 or above, and the time for questioning is 30 minutes.
A permitted teacher is an applicant who has only completed a higher diploma or associate degree or higher degree course but has not completed a diploma in education, but has been employed by the school. Subsequent completion of the Postgraduate Diploma in Education programme is required to become a full-time teacher.
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