Hong Kong proposes practising certificates for teachers and a classroom bar for national security convictions
HONG KONG, 12 November — Hong Kong plans to require schoolteachers and heads to obtain a practising certificate valid for up to three school years alongside their existing registration. The government also proposes a mechanism to bar people convicted of offences endangering national security from teaching in schools. It intends to publish the Education (Amendment) Bill 2026 in the Gazette on 13 November and present it to the Legislative Council for its first and second readings on 25 November. Government announcement, 12 November RTHK report, 12 November
The proposal extends from kindergarten heads to teachers in international schools. The publicly funded sector includes government, aided, caput and Direct Subsidy Scheme schools. In its announcement at 11.30 am Hong Kong time, the Education Bureau said teachers’ conduct affects pupils and that certification would help protect pupils’ interests and public confidence in the profession. RTHK reported both parts of the proposal that afternoon. Government announcement, 12 November Bureau guide to the bill RTHK report, 12 November
What the certificate would change
Hong Kong already has two routes into the classroom. Someone with a recognised teaching qualification can apply to become a registered teacher. A school can apply for a permit for a person who holds the requisite academic qualifications, allowing that person to teach there. If a permitted teacher moves to another school, the new employer must obtain another permit. Two people appointed to similar teaching posts may therefore bring different documents to the proposed certification process. Current teacher registration guidance February paper for the education panel
Figures the bureau gave legislators in February illustrate the distinction between registration and employment. Its records listed more than 160,000 registered teachers, while about 70,000 teachers were working in publicly funded, private and international schools and kindergartens. The bureau said the remainder mainly comprised people of retirement age, those who had left teaching and those without a record of school employment. The size of the register is consequently a poor guide to how many renewals schools might handle at the start of term. February paper for the education panel Bureau guide to the bill
Under the November criteria, someone holding a registration certificate or a permit to teach can meet the registration condition, as can someone whose registration application is awaiting the Permanent Secretary for Education’s decision. A separate requirement is to be teaching in a school or about to take up such a post. The order matters to jobseekers. In February the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools asked whether a qualified person without an employer could first obtain a certificate and then apply for vacancies as a certificate holder. Bureau guide to the bill Secondary heads’ submission
Registration as a registered teacher generally has no fixed expiry date. In its paper for legislators, the bureau said periodic certification would give it a more accurate picture of who on its register was still teaching. The heads proposed the five-year validity of certification for principalship as an alternative that could reduce repeated processing. The November proposal retains a maximum of three school years. That period concerns the new practising certificate, not the underlying teaching qualification. February paper for the education panel Secondary heads’ submission Bureau guide to the bill
Applicants would also have to be ordinarily resident in Hong Kong. The bureau says it would consider why, how long and how often a person had been away. Secondary heads asked how schools should treat someone who commutes across the boundary daily. Education Secretary Christine Choi told legislators in February that someone abroad could qualify, giving the example of an applicant hired by a school who declared an intention to stay in Hong Kong over the following year. November’s guidance sets out factors to assess without predetermining the result for individual commuters. Bureau guide to the bill Secondary heads’ submission RTHK on the education secretary, 6 February
How the 60 training hours would count
Two figures in the November guidance matter to anyone preparing a training record. All applicants would need 60 hours of continuing professional development during the 36 months before applying. Teachers serving in publicly funded primary and secondary schools would retain their existing requirement of 150 hours in each three-year cycle. The 60 hours used for certification count towards that total, leaving 90 hours. Adding the two headline figures would overstate the requirement by 60 hours. Bureau guide to the bill February paper for the education panel
What counts as training affects how teachers spend their time. The heads’ March questionnaire cited joint lesson planning, peer observation and discussion, lesson study and reading as examples of school-based development. It also asked about the availability of course places. In budget replies the bureau listed seminars, workshops and professional exchanges between schools. It says further certification details will follow. Schools cannot yet assume that every activity in the questionnaire will count towards the 60 hours. Questionnaire for member schools Bureau guide to the bill Bureau budget replies, pp. 389–390
Convictions, professional declarations and appeals
The bill brings together two matters that could affect a teacher’s livelihood. Applicants would declare whether they had a criminal conviction and undertake to maintain professional standards and comply with the law. The government separately proposes to deal with registration following a conviction for an offence endangering national security, with the aim of barring those convicted from teaching. Having a criminal record to declare would not, by itself, establish that the proposed national security bar applied. Government announcement, 12 November Bureau guide to the bill RTHK report, 12 November
The threshold identified by the bureau is a conviction. A complaint, an arrest or a charge awaiting trial is procedurally distinct from a court finding a person guilty. The 12 November announcement does not give the duration of a bar or explain what would happen to registration if a conviction were overturned on appeal. It establishes the mechanism the government wants to introduce. It does not establish that a particular person has lost a post or faces a lifetime ban. Government announcement, 12 November RTHK report, 12 November
Existing national security requirements for appointments have their own scope. Since the 2023/24 school year, new teachers in public sector and Direct Subsidy Scheme schools and in kindergartens participating in the Kindergarten Education Scheme must pass the Basic Law and National Security Law Test to be considered for appointment. Schools also have professional conduct guidelines to use in staff management, which the bureau consults when reviewing registration. An appointment test, a professional conduct review and a criminal conviction turn on different evidence. Test requirements for new appointments Teachers’ professional conduct guidelines
Verification also raises a question about access to personal information. The bureau’s February paper envisaged a register of names and certificate numbers. The heads wanted an access mechanism consistent with data privacy requirements for teachers and others needing to check credentials. Confirming a job applicant’s certificate to an employer involves a different level of disclosure from making a full professional record available to the public. The announcement does not say that applicants’ declarations of convictions would be published online. February paper for the education panel Secondary heads’ submission Questionnaire for member schools
The secondary heads had asked where applicants could appeal against refusal or revocation and whether suspension or cancellation would affect access to school premises. Paragraph 50 of the ILO–UNESCO recommendation on the status of teachers offers a benchmark for disciplinary proceedings. It calls for written notice of allegations, an opportunity to answer them and an identified authority to hear an appeal. It is an international recommendation and makes no finding on Hong Kong’s bill. Secondary heads’ submission ILO–UNESCO recommendation, paragraph 50
Who would process applications and organise cover?
For heads, the length of a certificate has practical consequences for staffing the first day of term. If renewals clustered between May and August, schools could be processing them alongside new recruits’ registration before classes began in September. The association suggested a transition period and online submission by teachers themselves. In this year’s budget replies, the bureau said it was preparing an electronic processing system and would deploy staff to vet applications. Secondary heads’ submission Bureau budget replies, pp. 389–390
The bureau said its guidance would address documents, fees, processing times and notice of decisions. It told the legislature that staffing costs would be absorbed within existing resources and did not give a separate breakdown. Choi said in February that officials were considering a year’s grace. The November announcement sets dates for gazettal and introduction to the legislature and does not fix a one-year grace period. Schools therefore cannot derive a first application deadline from the earlier statement. Bureau budget replies, pp. 389–390 RTHK on the education secretary, 6 February Government announcement, 12 November
Supply teaching presents a different counting problem. A February discussion paper proposed an exemption for short-term cover of no more than 30 school days in 12 months. The heads pointed out that a school knows how many days someone has worked there but may not know how many they worked elsewhere. Without a way to reconcile records, a school could face a last-minute question about whether a teacher could continue covering the same class. This was a concern about the earlier proposal. The November announcement did not bring a 30-day limit into force. February paper for the education panel Secondary heads’ submission Questionnaire for member schools
Teachers returning to the classroom also need access to training. The heads suggested giving people outside school employment access to electronic services so they could enrol in courses and build a verifiable record. They had in mind retired teachers willing to provide cover and those returning after a career break. Their ability to prepare before taking up a post would depend on where they could train, how hours were recorded and when a school and the bureau could verify them. February paper for the education panel Secondary heads’ submission Questionnaire for member schools
The association gathered views from member schools between 13 and 31 March, inviting each head and three to five teachers of different lengths of service to take part. Its July newsletter recorded 743 responses. Graduate-grade teachers accounted for 63.3 per cent and principals for 9.4 per cent. Respondents were asked separately about certificate duration, recognition of training and supply teaching. The figures describe participation. They do not measure support among all Hong Kong teachers for a bill announced months after the survey. Secondary heads’ July newsletter Questionnaire for member schools
The bureau says consultations beginning in September 2025 and a legislative panel discussion in February showed broad support among stakeholders and legislators. The secondary heads’ written position endorsed the direction of reform while seeking clarity on hiring, verification and appeals. Their submission concerned the discussion proposal. No fresh position from the association on the version announced on 12 November was identified in the material reviewed by publication time. The next announced parliamentary step is the first and second readings on 25 November. Government announcement, 12 November Bureau guide to the bill Secondary heads’ submission
Sources
Comments