Hong Kong replaces old teacher hiring scheme with grant

Hong Kong is introducing a new grant system for public schools to hire native English-speaking teachers (NETs). This system will be based on the median salary of the profession, rather than on teachers' years of experience. This change will give school principals more flexibility when hiring. Under the new plan, they can use a lump sum of funding to hire multiple NETs, unlike the current scheme, which allows only one teacher per school. The existing system pays teachers according to their experience. However, the new proposal would also make it easier for schools to let go of teachers who are not performing well. Principals who attended a recent briefing by the Education Bureau reported that this new grant system is expected to be rolled out soon. The current program began in the 1998-99 school year for secondary schools and in 2002-03 for primary schools.