| 教育局 | |
 Emblem of the Hong Kong SAR | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1852 |
| Jurisdiction |  Hong Kong |
| Headquarters | 11/F, East Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong |
| Employees | 5355 |
| Minister responsible | |
| Deputy Minister responsible |
|
| Agency executive |
|
| Child agencies |
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| Website | www.edb.gov.hk/ |
| Education Bureau | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 教育局 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
The Education Bureau (EDB) is responsible for implementing education policies in Hong Kong.
The bureau is headed by the Secretary for Education and oversees agencies including University Grants Committee and Student Finance Office.
History
The Education Department (教育署 and 教育司署 before 1983) was responsible for education matters in the territory, with the exception of post-secondary and tertiary education. In 2003, the department was abolished and a new bureau, the Education and Manpower Bureau (教育統籌局 abbreviated EMB) was formed. In July 2007, the manpower portfolio was transferred to the new Labour and Welfare Bureau by newly re-elected Chief Executive Donald Tsang.
The bureau was formerly housed at the Former French Mission Building.
Structure
The bureau mainly consists of six branches, which are responsible for different policies.
- Further & Higher Education Branch
- Planning, Infrastructure and School Places Allocation Branch
- Professional Development & Special Education Branch
- School Development & Administration Branch
- Curriculum and Quality Assurance Branch
- Corporate Services Branch
The bureau also oversees two child agencies: the University Grants Committee Secretariat and the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency.
Education System
The Education System includes: Kindergarten Education, Primary and Secondary School Education, Special Education, Post-secondary Education, and other Education and Training.[1]
Controversies
Censorship of textbooks
In August 2020, the Education Bureau, with the aim to 'help student develop positive values', made changes to the Liberal Studies textbooks of the six main publishers, who were invited to join the voluntary consultancy service introduced by the bureau in the previous year. The pro-democracy Professional Teachers' Union (PTU) said some teachers received messages from the publishers that the amendments relating to criticizing the mainland Chinese government and some political cartoons were replaced with emphasizing the possible criminal consequences for participants. The union accused that it is practising 'political censorship and 'had severely damaged the goals' of setting up the project.[2]
On 5 October, 2020, the Education Bureau deregistered a primary school teacher, the teacher was accused of using pro-independence materials, which the Bureau claims is an act of “spreading Hong Kong Independence message”. The Professional Teachers Union strongly condemned the teacher’s disqualification. In a statement, the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union accused the education bureau of failing to conduct a fair investigation. It said the unilateral disqualification and issuing of warning letters to the school were “despicable acts of intimidation of the school management” and were unacceptable.[3]
See also
- Education in Hong Kong
- Government of Hong Kong
- List of Hong Kong government agencies
- School-Based Management Policy
- Mother-Tongue teaching in Hong Kong
References
- ^ "EDB - Home". www.edb.gov.hk. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ^ Chan, Ho-him (20 August 2020). "Hong Kong education chiefs hit back at teachers' union over criticism liberal studies textbook changes amount to political censorship". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
- ^ "Hong Kong primary teacher deregistered 'for talking about independence'". The Guardian. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.