Just 24 teachers in four years finish course and collect Education Bureau grant to improve their skills teaching Chinese as a second language in Hong Kong, watchdog finds
- Government watchdog criticises bureau for not doing enough to push schools and teachers to participate in these services
- Grant scheme launched in 2014-15 school year to improve capabilities of serving teachers to teach language to non-Chinese pupils
Just two dozen teachers in Hong Kong have completed and received reimbursements for training programmes to improve their skills teaching Chinese as a second language despite demand from about 80 schools, the government watchdog has found.
The Office of the Ombudsman criticised the Education Bureau for not doing enough to push schools and teachers to participate in these services and suggested it review its support measures to help more non-Chinese-speaking pupils integrate.
This was among a raft of recommendations the watchdog floated as part of a direct investigation – that is, a self-initiated probe – published on Tuesday to examine inadequacies in government support for non-Chinese-speaking pupils in learning the language and creating inclusive learning environments.
“The government has in recent years introduced measures to enhance the support for non-Chinese-speaking students,” the watchdog’s report read. “Nevertheless, there have been criticisms from time to time that the bureau has not provided adequate support to cater for [their] needs.”
A professional enhancement grant scheme was launched in the 2014-15 school year to improve the capabilities of serving Chinese subject teachers to teach the language to non-Chinese students in primary and secondary schools by subsidising recognised courses at universities.
