JustAGuyinHK

I am a Native English Teacher (NET) employed by the Hong Kong Government’s Education Department. I’ve worked at three schools thus far but am employed by the Government, which has checked (and double-checked) my credentials and ensured I am a qualified teacher. I am hired and can be fired by the school, but I am paid and managed by the Government. Every school in Hong Kong has one NET teacher if the Government funds it. There are rumblings, and all of this will change.

The Government is under a lot of pressure to cut costs and find efficiencies. It is not new. All governments are doing the same thing around the world. One idea is to decentralize the funding and give the schools a subsidy. Schools would be free to do whatever they wanted with the money. They could retain their current NET at the exact cost or decide to use the funds to hire two or three other NETs based on their own requirements and needs. It makes sense on a lot of levels.

In recent years, the Education Department has cut the number of teaching hours for English and increased the hours for other subjects – National Security, National Identity, and the teaching of Mandarin as it is more of a focus for the Government. While teaching hours have been reduced, the curriculum and the demands through exams and tests have remained the same. NETs, through the Education Department, are required to teach a set number of hours. These hours have not changed, but giving more flexibility to the schools would allow the schools to reduce the number of hours the NETs teach and provide more time to cover the textbook – which is on the assessments and exams. The move makes sense.

The flexibility offered by this proposal would be welcomed by some schools. If a school is lucky enough to find NETs who are well-trained, have a strong educational background, and have a lot of experience, everything will work out great. It would be a challenge for schools that struggle to attract talent.

These changes to the NET Scheme are proposals and from a few principals and administrators. The government is under financial pressure but also pressure to provide the same level of service. It will be interesting to see how it finds this balance if these changes become reality.