Exclusive | 1,887 Hong Kong teachers apply to work in England under education talent scheme
Data obtained by Post shows about 800 applicants already approved under UK scheme targeting educators from nine new jurisdictions
Nearly 1,900 teachers from Hong Kong have applied to work in England under an initiative to source overseas educators, with about 800 candidates from the city already approved.
But one of those chosen said candidates from Hong Kong faced a pay cut of more than 50 per cent.
The British government in December 2022 announced educators from nine new jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, would be eligible to apply for qualified teacher status from February 2023 to teach in England.
The policy took effect two years after London introduced its British National (Overseas) visa scheme, a bespoke immigration pathway for Hongkongers offered in response to the national security law imposed by Beijing on the city in June 2020. As of June this year, 150,400 people had arrived in the UK under the immigration scheme.
Through a freedom of information request, the Post learned the number of Hong Kong teachers who applied and received the UK qualification from the Teaching Regulation Agency, which is sponsored by the country’s Department of Education.
The data showed there were 1,887 applications by Hong Kong teachers between February 2023 and August 2024, with 797 given the qualification.
