Candidates taking the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education examination sit at least 1.8 meters apart at an examination hall, Hong Kong, on April 24, 2020. (JEROME FAVRE / AFP)
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Monday accused the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union of putting politics before professional ethics and bringing anti-government sentiments into campuses.
Speaking to the media, Lam voiced her support behind the Education Bureau’s decision on Saturday to cut ties with the union. As a result, the government will no longer meet with the union formally or informally, heed its views on education, or deal with cases it referred to the bureau.
The union failed in its mission to unite teachers in the city’s effort to restore stability, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said
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Lam said it has been obvious to all that the union has gone even further in prioritizing politics over its professional status since the social unrest in 2019.
The unrest “taught us a profound lesson” that there are undeniable problems in the education system, with teachers and students engaged in illegal activities, she said.
The union failed in its mission to unite teachers in the city’s effort to restore stability, Lam said. Instead, it stirred up political issues and even anti-mainland sentiment in campuses, leading government to take necessary action, she said.
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Lam said the government will continue to exchange opinions with other teachers’ unions, school-sponsoring bodies and parent-teacher associations.
She added that she is confident that most teachers in the city are professional, bear the best interests of students in mind, and are able to raise patriotic, law-abiding students.