SED on student population and appointment requirements of teachers

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, at a media session after attending a radio programme today (October 23):

Reporter: Some teachers may become jobless, and some schools may have to close down…(inaudible)?

Secretary for Education: As I said before, there is a very obvious trend of decreasing in student population. As a result, we have to look at the overall demand and supply of school places, which have a direct impact on the number of schools that we need. As a result, I think there may be some changes in the number of teacher posts. But in the whole process, we will maintain a continuous dialogue with school sponsoring bodies, school managements, as well as teachers, so that we want to minimise the impact on individual teachers.

Reporter: Why is it necessary for teachers to have test on the Basic Law? Will that mean teachers will have their tests on the National Security Law?

Secretary for Education: What we are now doing is implementing a test for new teachers, and also for the teachers who have not had that qualification. When they change school, they also have to go through the Basic Law test. In doing so, we will also make reference to the current practice for civil servants. As you all know, the Civil Service Bureau is now considering a test on the National Security Law. Depending on the outcomes, we will also make necessary adjustments to the test for teachers.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)