Social News
Written by: Deng Yinglin
2021-03-22 08:00
Last update date: 2021-03-22 08:00
The incident in which teacher Lin of Li Donghai Primary School of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals fell from a building in the school the year before and died, aroused public concern about the pressure of teachers at work, and also revealed that the current school complaint mechanism is flawed, and the school-based complaint handling mechanism is not effective.
The Education Association recently received two faculty members working in the same aided primary school for help, claiming that the principal was ineffective in handling school affairs, such as sending teachers out of the classroom in the middle of the class and failing to properly respond to the needs of students for online lessons; in addition, faculty members were asked to revise the 120-page report within one day , Even ranting to the faculty, etc. However, when the faculty complained to the school supervisor, the other party categorized it as an "opinion" on the grounds that "it is not unethical, it does not involve money, and does not constitute a complaint."
The Education Association wrote a letter to the Education Bureau to complain about the incident, which is being followed up.
The Education Bureau reiterated that schools should establish a school-based mechanism to handle complaints made by faculty members. It is fair and impartial. Any person who is complained should not participate in or supervise investigations. If the quality of governance of individual schools needs to be improved, the bureau will strengthen support.
In the past two academic years, the Education Bureau has received more than 100 complaints from religious staff about the school, of which 17 cases have been investigated and 7 cases have been partially established.
(Photo by Deng Yinglin)
The death of Lin Litang, a teacher from Li Donghai Primary School, who fell from a building inside the school has aroused widespread public concern about teacher pressure and the school complaint mechanism. However, many school management problems have not improved. The Education Association received two teachers from the same aided primary school for help earlier. Respectively claiming that they were treated unfairly by the principal in the school, and there was no way to complain to the school supervisor, and they were only regarded as "opinions" about the school's administrative chaos.
Senior teacher: The teacher was called to leave the classroom in the middle of the class to deal with non-urgent school affairs
Senior teacher Mr. Chen (pseudonym) pointed out that the principal involved was unwilling to take responsibility after taking office, which caused confusion in school administration. Some teachers were even called out of the classroom in the middle of class to deal with non-urgent school affairs.
He also described the principal's nepotism and caused many senior teachers to resign. For this reason, he wrote to the school supervisor to report this school year, hoping that someone would monitor the principal's work.
"Is it because I didn't sit on the roof, why don't you deal with the earth emperor?"
However, Chen pointed out that after many discussions with the school supervisor and a school manager, the other party stated that "it is not the principal's wickedness, does not involve money, and does not constitute a complaint", and characterized the complaint as an "opinion" about the school's administrative confusion. With his consent, he forwarded the complaint letter to the principal.
He described the incident as having no way to file complaints. Since then, he has been publicly picked up by the principal at school meetings and asked to resign: "Is it because I didn't sit on the roof, why don't you deal with the emperor?"
Ms. Zhang, who once worked as a civilian in an aided primary school, said that she complained to the school supervisor that the principal suspected of targeting and bullying her, waited 3 months, and took the initiative to inquire that the school supervisor had discussed the incident with the principal and deputy principal and classified the complaint. As "opinions."
(Photo by Deng Yinglin)
The clerk said that the principal asked to change the 120-page report a day and hand over the phone before the meeting to ban recording
Ms. Zhang, another civilian from the same school, also complained that at the beginning of the job, she was suspected of failing to recognize the voice of the principal when answering the phone, which caused dissatisfaction with the principal and was repeatedly embarrassed, including asking her to change the 120-page report within a day. In addition, before meeting with the principal, she also complained. She had to hand over the phone. She also described: "The meeting is not about giving instructions. It is like an interrogation." She questioned the principal's request to hand over the phone because she was worried that there would be evidence. "
Letter to the school supervisor for 3 months, and the inquiry is listed as "opinion"
She also claimed that the principal asked her to change the document that was previously in charge of another faculty member. However, when she asked the principal whether she needed to notify the person in charge, the principal furiously shouted: "The principal does not need to explain anything to anyone." The situation made her Feeling horrified, every time the principal called, he would cry, so he wrote to the school supervisor to complain, but did not receive a reply after 3 months.
Later, I took the initiative to inquire and learned that the school supervisor had discussed the incident with the principal and the vice-principal. In the end, she was not interviewed and the complaint was classified as an "opinion."
She said that "the more time goes by, the greater the pressure", and finally chose to resign, and has now left the school.
Ye Jianyuan, vice-president of the Education Association and former member of the legislative council of the education sector, believes that this is not a single incident of two people seeking help from a school.
(Photo by Deng Yinglin)
Education Bureau "School Administration Manual": Complaints must be kept confidential and the school management committee or team responsible
Ye Jianyuan, vice chairman of the Education Association and former member of the Education Legislative Council, pointed out that the teaching coordination investigation revealed that bullying of teachers is common in Hong Kong campuses and workplaces. This time two people in a school asked for help. This shows that it is not a single incident. He reiterated that it was based on the "Education Bureau's 2020/21 school year" "School Administration Manual", the school should deal with all comments or dissatisfaction as soon as possible, whether oral or written, anonymous or not, and a clear procedure for handling complaints should be established. All complaints should be handled by the school management committee or an authorized team (not One person) is responsible.
The Education Association has sent a letter to the Education Bureau to complain about the incident, and the bureau has responded to it and is following up the case.
Education Bureau: In the past two academic years, more than 100 teachers complained about schools
According to the Education Bureau, in the 2018/19 school year and 2019/20 school year, it received about 70 and more than 30 complaints from faculty and staff respectively; of the 17 cases that have been investigated, 7 cases were partially established.
Generally speaking, the content of faculty complaints mainly involves matters such as appointment, performance appraisal, dismissal, school management or personnel disputes.
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Education Bureau: If the complainant accepts the complaint, it will study in detail and notify the school to submit information if the complainant agrees
The Education Bureau reiterated that according to the guidelines of the Bureau, schools should establish a school-based mechanism to handle complaints made by faculty members. To be fair and impartial, schools should appoint appropriate specialists or set up a task force to handle complaints, and any person who is complained should not participate or supervise Investigation work.
The Education Bureau bluntly stated that as employers, schools need to understand and follow up on personnel management issues. If the quality of governance of individual schools needs to be improved, the bureau will strengthen support.
Teachers and staff can directly complain to the affiliated school or the Education Bureau. After receiving the complaint, the Education Bureau will study the information submitted by the complainant in detail and take appropriate investigation actions. If the complainant agrees, the bureau will notify the school of the complaint and ask the school to respond. And submit information.
The bureau will reply directly to the complainant after completing the investigation.
If the complainant is dissatisfied with the investigation result, he can appeal.
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Teacher Education Bureau, Education Association, workplace bullying, campus bullying
