PTU News Reporter

News reports in October 2017 claimed that the City University of Hong Kong submitted an incomplete claim of the number of students, resulting in an increase in teacher-student ratio and a better assessment value. Herman Hu, the then chairperson of the Council of the City University of Hong Kong (CityU) denied the said allegations, and had since appointed an independent auditor to audit the statistics concerning teacher-student ratio. Related figures will be released after the completion of the audition. Also a university teaching staff, the President of the HKPTU, Dr. Fung Wai Wah expressed concerns on the consequence brought by an over-emphasis on rankings to the developments of universities.

Inconsistencies Between Figures Submitted by CityU and the UGC

Comparing different figures submitted by the CityU of Hong Kong, news reports revealed that the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education (THE) both indicated the number of students studying at the CityU of Hong Kong in the 2015/16 academic year to be 9,240. Statistics of the University Grants Committee (UGC) suggests otherwise, indicating the number of students to be 13,283, revealing a significant difference in numbers. The CityU was alleged to have submitted figures of students studying in the summer semester, with final year students graduating and freshmen students yet to be enrolled, resulting in a significant decrease in the number of students.  The CityU denied all allegations. Herman Hu stated that “we have nothing to hide. CityU can stand under the sunlight”. The University had since appointed an independent auditor to audit statistics concerning student numbers, and had promised to release relevant statistics upon the completion of the auditions.

Media reports had further pointed out the QS practice of providing paid services, providing universities with extra assessment services upon payment. Said services are annually priced at around $320,000, with City University and the Hong Kong Baptist University opting into the programme last year. CityU was awarded an assessment grading of “5+”, a score even higher than those attained by top-rank universities such as Harvard, California Institute of Technology, and Cambridge. As an income source of QS, this programme charges at a significantly high rate; with government subsidized universities to join in these assessment programme raises questions of the appropriateness of use of funding. By providing assessment services on payment basis, the legitimacy of QS rankings is notably challenged. In interviews, representatives of QS emphasized on the the impartiality of QS, stating that no results of assessments carried out in the payment-based programme will be affected by the varying amount paid by universities.

Putting The Cart In Front of The Horse

Red flags were once again signalled against the consequences of an over-emphasis on the pursuit of rankings brought to the tertiary education sector. Dr. Fung Wai Wah said the emphasis on university rankings by personnel at the managerial level in universities had prompted scholars to focus mainly on research and publication works in international periodicals, resulting in a severe imbalance. Scholars are then faced with immense pressure—failing to publish works in famous periodicals, resulting in negative impact in promotion or renewal of contracts. Such practices turned universities into producing publication mills, neglecting the responsibilities of nurturing talents.

Purchasing grading services instead of funding research and education developments, as did by certain universities puts the cart in front of the horse, clearly reflecting a distortion in university education by a culture of pursuing rankings among universities; it is utmost unacceptable for universities to be providing incomplete statistics in order to acquire improved rankings. The HKPTU hereby awaits for the City University of Hong Kong to complete audition in time and disclose all relevant information, ensuring no universities are acquiring improved rankings through dishonest measures.

PTU News Reporter

As a trade union of teachers and an education professional organization, the Hong Kong Teachers’ Professional Union had been providing suggestions and advices to the government on education policies over the years. With the intentions to push forward improvements in government policies concerning education, we strive to deliver the opinions of teachers to the government while education policies were being formulated. Over the years, we have met with government officials from time to time, and had established the Education Research Department in HKPTU in order to conduct in-depth research and to provide substantial suggestions concerning education policies. The HKPTU’s Legislative Councillors have also been actively bringing opinions and voices of teaching professionals into the Legislative Council, safeguarding education for teachers and for all citizens. Representatives of the HKPTU had also taken part in the work of a number of panels and task forces related to education policies established by the government, aiming to bring in the opinions of education professionals at the frontline in the process of policy making.

To handle education related matters, the government had established a number of panels and task forces. Representatives from the HKPTU had also taken part in the work of these panels and commissions, including the Education Commission and the Council on Professional Conduct in Education. Upon the Legislative Council’s approval to a 3.6 billion funding to the education sector last year, the government had since established respective task forces to review the “Eight Key Areas of Education”. These eight key areas include the professional developments of teachers, curriculum arrangements, vocational education, self-financed tertiary education, school-based management, parental education, and the UGC funding of academic research and students’ dormitories. Several task forces had already been established, with Mr. Fung Wai Wah, President of HKPTU appointed as a member of the Task Force on School-based Management Policy and Mr. Cheung Yui Fai appointed as member of the Task Force on Professional Developments of Teachers.

Reviewing the School-based Management system to safeguard the rights and interests of teachers and students

In an interview with the PTU News, Fung, President of the HKPTU,  revealed that the primary objective of the Task Force on School-based Management is to review the current implementation of the system and to look into methods of simplifying administrative work at school, alleviating the work pressure of teachers. Fung continued by pointing out that since the education reform, the increasingly complicated administrative work faced by teachers had brought about immense pressure, the education sector had been looking forward to a solution to the mounting pressure of teachers for years. Fung envisions the Task Force to work towards a common goal of coming up with feasible solutions in reducing administrative work faced by schools. The mismanagement of the Hing Tak School revealed the shortcomings of the school-based management system, Fung   expects the Task Force to conduct in-depth discussions on ways of improving the school-based management system, in particular the mechanism of returning complaints filed for schools to handle. Fung expects the Task Force to reinforce the role of teachers in school administration, safeguarding the rights of teachers and students.

Upgrading teaching professional education to degree level

Cheung, the Vice President of the HKPTU, the newly appointed member of the Task Force on Professional Developments of Teachers, as well as the vice-principal of a secondary school, stated that the Task Force will be conducting research on issues concerning staff entitlement matters that had aroused concern and awareness in the education sector over the years. The Task Force will also be looking for feasible mechanisms of establishing a teaching professionals’ qualifications framework, including qualifying teachers for their respective specialties at work, such as counselling and SEN support. The Task Force will also look into the staffing management at the managerial level of secondary, primary, and special education schools as well as establishing a timetable for the full implementation of upgrading all teaching professional education to degree level. Cheung stated that the above-mentioned are longstanding issues that had aroused concerns in the education sector, upgrading teaching professional education to degree level, alongside with demands to increase class-student ratio, are the most pressing demands of primary and secondary schools. Fung hopes that the Task Force will be able to push forward the implementation of upgrading professional education to degree level, hence resolving the issue of differential pay among similar employment.

Fung adds that, as the largest teachers’ union, the HKPTU has always been an important stakeholder in the process of drafting education policies. Fung hopes that the government will maintain an open-minded manner in the future when establishing education related task forces and panels, accepting opinions from different stakeholders, allowing representatives of teachers’ unions to participate. The HKPTU will also continue its work in voicing the opinions of the education sector through various means, ensuring the voices of the frontline teachers are heard by the government in the process of policy-making.

本報記者

教協作為教師工會及教育專業團體，多年來一直透過不同渠道向政府提出教育政策建議，推動政府改善教育政策，讓政府在制定教育政策和措施時聆聽前線教師的聲音。過往教協不時約見政府相關官員會面，並設立教育研究部就不同範疇的教育政策進行扎實的研究和提出具體政策建議，而教協立法會議員多年來亦積極把教師聲音帶入議會，在議會為教師以至市民把關，從不間斷。除此以外，政府亦設立了多個跟教育相關的委員會和研究小組，教協代表亦參與部分委員會的工作，希望利用每一個渠道，在教育政策的制定過程中，讓政府聆聽前線教師的聲音。

過往政府設立多個委員會處理教育相關事宜，教協代表亦有參與部分委員會的工作，包括教育統籌委員會及教育人員專業操守議會。去年中，立法會通過36億元教育經常開支後，政府就「八大教育範疇」成立個別專責小組進行研究。八大範疇包括教師專業發展、課程安排、評核制度、職業專才教育、自資專上教育、校本管理、家長教育和教資會在研究和學生宿舍的資助。部分委員會已經成立，當中教協會長馮偉華獲委任為校本管理政策專責小組成員，而副會長張銳輝則獲委任為教師專業發展專責小組成員。

檢視校本管理　保障師生權益

會長馮偉華接受本報訪問時表示，校本管理政策專責小組將研究現時校本管理政策的推行情況，並探討如何簡化資助學校的行政，從而釋放教師空間。馮偉華表示，自教改以來日漸繁複的行政工作為前線教師帶來極大壓力，為教師鬆綁減壓，讓他們專注教學工作已是業界多年的期望，他希望專責小組成員可共同努力，提出切實可行的方法減輕學校行政工作。同時，去年興德學校事件暴露了校本管理的種種問題，他期望專責小組可就改善校本管理進行深入討論，特別是檢視現時把針對學校的投訴發還學校處理的機制，加強教師校政的角色，保障教師及學生的權益。

盼儘快落實教師學位化

至於獲委任為教師專業發展專責小組成員，本身為中學副校長的教協副會長張銳輝則表示，這個專責小組將就三項教育界長期關注，有關教師編制的議題進行研究，包括建立教師專業階梯的可行方案，認同教師在教學上的不同專長，例如輔導工作、支援特教生等，亦會研究中小學及特殊學校管理層的職級安排，以及教師職位學位化的時間表。張銳輝認為，上述議題均是教育界長期關注的項目，當中全面學位化更是提高班師比例以外，中小學最迫切的訴求之一，期望專責小組可推動政府儘快落實這項措施，解決文憑教師同工不同酬的問題。

馮偉華補充指，教協作為最大的教師工會，一向是教育政策制定過程中的重要持分者，他期望政府日後成立其他與教育相關的委員會時，能夠保持開放的態度，兼容各持分者的意見，讓教師工會代表參與其中。教協亦會繼續透過不同渠道，向政府表達教育界的意見，讓政府制定教育政策和措施時，能吸納前線教師的聲音。