At least 18 young children were attacked in a child abuse incident at the "Tong Le Ju" under the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children, shocking the whole city.
The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Law Chi-kwong, said today (26th) that if the Social Welfare Department considers that someone is no longer suitable for taking care of young children, the person concerned can be removed from the registration.
Some people in the industry who did not want to be named said that child care workers generally only need to have a Form 5 or above education and complete recognized training courses to register. However, the promotion ladder and job recognition of child care workers are not as good as those of kindergarten teachers. It’s so good.” So even if about 2,000 childcare workers are newly registered every year, it’s difficult to recruit talents. The industry has been short of people for a long time. The prospects are facts."
More than 6,000 working child care workers are easy to enter the industry, long and difficult
According to the requirements of the Child Care Services Ordinance and the Child Care Services Regulations, day child care centers that provide services for children under three years of age must hire registered child care workers and child care center supervisors with training course certificates or equivalent qualifications approved by the Director of Social Welfare Take care of young children.
According to government figures, in 2019-2020, there are more than 550 child care centers in Hong Kong. Industry insiders estimate that there are more than 6,000 registered child care workers "on the job" in Hong Kong. Many non-employees are eligible. If you are a child care center, please submit your name."
The industry feels sad about the suspected child abuse cases in some organizations, and is even more worried that the incident will further affect the image of child care workers, and fewer new blood will join in the future.
She pointed out that the current government resources invested in kindergartens may be about two to three times that of child care centers. Kindergartens have better treatment and talents tend to flow to kindergartens. It is even more difficult for child care centers to retain senior child care workers. Every year, 2,000 child care workers are newly registered because so many people leave."
The salaries of kindergarten staff are similar to those of basic kindergarten teachers, but the prospects and recognition are not as good as that of the industry. This is the main reason for the wastage.
(Profile picture)
Salary is similar to basic kindergarten teachers but lacks prospects
She pointed out that child care workers generally only need to have a Form 5 education or above to register after completing an approved training course, while child care workers can be promoted to senior child care workers, and if they pass a diploma related to special care, they can become special child care workers. , And then he was promoted to the child care center director; the salary is similar to the monthly salary of the basic teachers of kindergartens. The monthly salary of child care workers and child care center directors ranges from 23,000 Hong Kong dollars to more than 40,000 Hong Kong dollars. No prospects and hard work, good temper, and the outside world feels that it’s just like a kid, and the acceptance is low. It’s better to work hard to be a kindergarten teacher for the after-fruits class."
Tong Leju’s Child Abuse Case | Luo Zhiguang said he was angry and urged the SWD to thoroughly investigate the case of Tong Leju child abuse that does not rule out the cancellation of the assailant registration | ｜Two female employees were accused of assaulting the child abuse case of Tong Leju, a research staff member of the Children’s Social Welfare Department.
