Hong Kong school head calls sacking of teacher in pro-independence row ‘extremely saddening’ in letter to parents

Principal of Alliance Primary School Kowloon Tong breaks silence over Education Bureau’s move to deregister male staff member

Stephanie Ng says support from parents and alumni over past few days has been ‘heart-warming’

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A student and his mother at Alliance Primary School in Kowloon Tong. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 2:25pm, 9 Oct 2020Updated: 11:15pm, 9 Oct 2020

The head of a Hong Kong primary school at the centre of accusations a teacher spread pro-independence messages in class has called the matter “extremely regretful and saddening” in a letter to parents.

Stephanie Ng Lai-fun, principal of the private Alliance Primary School in Kowloon Tong, broke her silence for the first time since the male staff member was stripped of his right to teach in the city, and banned from all schools, by the Education Bureau.

In her letter, Ng, who only took charge at the start of this academic year, said she had received many messages of support from parents and alumni, something she called “heart-warming”.

“We hope there will be time for us to soothe the pain, with importance attached to the school’s benefits,” she wrote. “We hope that our teachers can be protected, and students can be given a calm environment to continue their learning.”

Primary Five children were asked why the issue of Hong Kong independence was being raised. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Education officials said the teacher, who left after being deregistered last month, was spreading pro-independence ideas in classrooms through a “biased and twisted” worksheet and lesson plan, which spent at least 85 minutes on the topic.

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