Manpower arrangement of senior teachers

(a) Primary schools Views of Stakeholders

4.9 Regarding the provision of senior teachers in primary schools, there are views that school planning and student support services have become more complex and challenging with all the education initiatives implemented in the sector in the past. The number of senior teacher posts in primary schools is determined by the number of approved classes, and is not adjusted with the increase in the number of teaching posts. The sector generally feels that the current manpower at the middle management level in primary schools is inadequate to meet the developmental needs of schools. Due to limited provision of senior teachers, it is common practice for primary schools to arrange for APSMs, graduate teachers at the basic rank, to take up leading roles for various school functions. Such arrangement is considered unsatisfactory as it could cause staff management and morale issues, not conducive to the human resources development in schools. The situation, if allowed to continue, would become even more difficult to manage with the full implementation of the all-graduate teaching force policy.

4.10 The sector strongly requests that the manpower provision at the middle management level in primary schools be improved in tandem with the implementation of the all-graduate teaching force policy. As regards the magnitude of improvements to be made, different suggestions have been received. The sector is also of the view that the senior teacher

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provision should be determined with reference to the number of teaching posts in the schools, similar to the practice in secondary schools.

The Task Force’s Deliberation and Recommendations

4.11 The Task Force has carefully examined the historical developments leading to the current arrangements in the primary school sector, and the challenges primary schools face with the latest developments on the education landscape, such as integrated education, whole school approach to guidance, inclusion of ethnic minority students, values education, catering for widening student diversity etc., all of which have brought on far-reaching impacts on school operations. School planning and student support work have become more complex and demanding. The Task Force considers that senior teachers are key personnel in leading curriculum implementation and student support in schools. Appointing teachers with expertise, abilities and outstanding performance to senior teacher positions will duly recognize their contributions and give them a platform to further realize their strengths and potential.

4.12 The Task force is aware of that the senior teacher provision in primary schools is calculated on the basis of the number of approved classes and is not adjusted consequent upon any increase in the number of teaching posts in schools. Upon implementation of whole-day primary schooling, the provision of senior teachers has been enhanced from one post for every four classes to one for three classes. Schools have also been provided with additional senior teacher posts for specific purposes (such as leadership in the teaching of English and school curriculum).

From the 2019/20 school year, schools with larger number of students with special educational needs can also upgrade the special educational needs coordinator post to the promotion rank. However, other than these adjustments, there has not been any major review or enhancement

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of the senior teacher provision to help primary schools cope with the many education developments for meeting the changing learning needs of students.

4.13 Schools deploy middle leaders to take charge of key subject panels such as Chinese, Mathematics, etc.; and lead various functional areas such as comprehensive personal growth education, whole school approach to guidance, extra-curricular activities, language learning support for non-Chinese speaking students, professional development, school administration, STEM¹⁶ education, as well as other education initiatives driven by the developmental needs of individual schools. The Task Force considers that there are strong functional justifications for more senior teacher posts to be provided in primary schools to help lead and implement the wide spectrum of school work to support the further development of quality education. The Task Force is also of the view that the formula for determining the number of senior teacher posts in primary schools should be changed, linking it to the number of teaching posts from the application of the T/C ratio, so that the primary sector could also benefit from any consequential improvement of T/C ratio in the future.

4.14 The Task Force notes that, currently, due to limited manpower provision, it is common practice for primary schools to assign APSMs to roles leading various school functions. The Task Force considers that school capacity could be built by encouraging and arranging for suitable teachers with experience and expertise to shoulder more responsibilities, giving them exposure to a wider spectrum of multi-faceted school functions. This would help develop the teaching staff’s potential and nurture their professional growth. Following the full implementation of the all-graduate teaching force policy, APSMs are expected to take up more diversified professional roles and duties. However, the current

16 STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

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across the board arrangements of deployment of the basic APSM rank to leadership and functional roles in school, as a matter of expediency, are unsatisfactory. This could cause quality concerns and undesirable staff management and morale issues, not conducive to the schools’ long-term development.

4.15 The Task Force considers that there is a need to rationalize and strengthen the manpower provision and arrangements at the middle management level in primary schools, so that primary schools can effectively play their important roles. Increasing the number of senior teacher posts also provides more opportunities for capable teachers to be promoted in recognition of their contributions, and helps retain and attract talents. The Task Force’s recommendation in this respect is set out below:

Recommendation 7: Improving the manpower at the middle