Teachers are reminded to have self-awareness and discipline to abide by the latest Guidelines on Teachers' Professional Conduct released Thursday, so as to safeguard education profession and national security, with a whipping life-long license suspension as the maximum penalty for violators.
The latest set of guidelines was formulated and rolled out by the Education Bureau, which stressed that “the core mission of education is cultivating values and nurturing people.
“When formulating the guidelines, the bureau has not only carefully taken into account the actual situation of the Hong Kong education system and the existing legislation, but also made reference to documents related to teachers’ professional development and the standards for teachers’ professionalism in different countries and regions,” a spokesperson said.
The guidelines focused on teachers' pursuit of professionalism and commitment to upholding high moral standards and outlined eight principles. They include professional values, abiding by the laws, setting a role model, integrity and fairness, loyalty to the job, caring for students, respecting privacy and defending professionalism.
Examples of the “dos and don'ts” of behaviors for each principle are provided as well.
Under the principle of abiding by the laws, teachers are reminded to respect the legal authority of the government and the school, and to correctly comprehend the Constitution, the Basic Law and the Hong Kong National Security Law.
Teachers should “have the self-awareness to safeguard national security, social order and public interest; answer to their social responsibilities and fulfill their duties as a civilian.”
They should also “proactively promote and support national education, and bring up students with the correct national perception.”
The guidelines provided reasons for rejecting a teacher's registration as well, including reaching the age limit of 70 and being convicted of an offense that is liable to imprisonment punishment.
If a teacher's behaviors are viewed as a serious professional misconduct, he or she could have the teacher's license suspended for life without any chance for re-registration, so as to protect the safety of students.
The full set of guidelines (in Chinese version only) can be found
here.