Foreign English language teacher. working in Hong Kong Government schools will be required to take an oath of allegiance to the city, officials have ordered, as fears grow about the region’s ability to retain teachers due to increased restrictions.
Hong Kong’s education bureau said on Saturday that native-speaking English teachers (NETs) and counselors working in government schools would have to sign a declaration by June 21 to continue working.
Since 2020, Hong Kong has implemented oath-taking requirements for an increasing number of jobs, mainly in the public sector, as a way of meeting the demands of the Chinese government’s loyalty.
The NETs must declare that they will be allegiance to Hong Kong and responsible to the Basic Law – the city’s constitutional text – as well as the government.
The “neglect, refusal or failure” to sign the declaration would lead to the termination of the contract, officials said.
A government spokesperson said the new announcement would “further safeguard and promote the core values to be cherished by all government employees” and ensure effective governance.
NETs are typically hired on renewable two-year contracts, with monthly salaries that start at around HK$32,000 (US$4,100/£3,300) and can go up to HK$74,000.
Hong Kong introduced the NET program in 1997 to improve students’ language skills, and has gradually made NET a standard facility in primary and secondary schools.
In addition to market-beating pay, the net receives government allowances and other incentives to ensure retention, which has been a growing problem in recent years.
In April, the government reported that 13% of NET in secondary schools dropped out in the school year 2020-21, the highest figure in five years.
However, officials said the net retention and job loss rates have remained “largely stable”.
The city’s head of education, Kevin Yeung, has denied that Hong Kong’s strict zero-Covid strategy has led to an increasing number of nets left out.
“There are no sufficient grounds to attribute our mandatory quarantine measure to their decision to go off the net or teach or not come to Hong Kong,” he told lawmakers in April.
Some educators have expressed apprehension about the city’s political climate, as Beijing has turned Hong Kong into its authoritarian image.
The loyalty requirement was first enforced on civil servants in October 2020, and then extended seven months later to government employees hired on contract.
Priority has been given to “national security education” in schools and some teachers have said they now avoid sensitive subjects such as the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.