Hong Kong to gazette bill barring those with national security convictions from teaching

The Hong Kong government has announced a draft law set to be gazetted this Friday barring people convicted of national security offences from becoming teachers in the city.

The Education Bureau said in a Thursday statement that the national security safeguard under the Education (Amendment) Bill 2026, along with a certification requirement, would “ensure that all teachers are fit and proper persons.”

It said it would gazette the bill on Friday “with the aim of enhancing the teacher registration mechanism by imposing practising certificate requirements, and introducing a mechanism to handle matters of teacher registration for persons convicted of offences endangering national security.”

The new system would “elevate society’s recognition of the education profession and raise the social status of teachers,” the statement said. The bill is set to be introduced to the Legislative Council (LegCo) on November 25.

National security vetting

Hong Kong authorities introduced national security-focused curriculum guidelines months after Beijing imposed a national security law in the city in June 2020.

Teachers in local schools must now also pass a test on the city’s mini-constitution and its national security legislation before they can be appointed.

The certification system established under the bill will grant teachers a practising certificate valid for no more than three school years, after which it must be renewed.

See also: Nat. security checks now required for school activities by external organisers to prevent ‘political propaganda’

“Amid the complex and rapidly changing development of our society, the public and parents have increasingly high expectations of teachers’ professionalism,” the statement said.

“The bill meets schools’ actual operational needs, encourages teachers to keep pace with the times and strengthens teacher management, with the ultimate goal of safeguarding the well-being of students,” it continued.

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James Lee is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press with an interest in culture and social issues. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in Journalism from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he witnessed the institution’s transformation over the course of the 2019 extradition bill protests and after the passing of the Beijing-imposed security law.

Since joining HKFP in 2023, he has covered local politics, the city’s housing crisis, as well as landmark court cases including the 47 democrats national security trial. He was previously a reporter at The Standard where he interviewed pro-establishment heavyweights and extensively covered the Covid-19 pandemic and Hong Kong’s political overhauls under the national security law.