Letters | New benchmarks for Hong Kong language teachers underline policy shift
Readers discuss the new requirements for native-speaking English teachers, the need to prioritise safety and well-being in building renovation, and the commercialisation of Christmas gift-giving
On the Education Bureau’s website for the NET Scheme, it is clearly stipulated that applicants should either be native speakers of English or possess native-speaker English competence. The scheme has never been restricted to passport-holding natives; it has always been about demonstrable competence at a very high level.
Following the introduction of the NET grant, the entry requirements have been revised. Under the new grant, NETs are expected to, among other criteria, possess valid IELTS results with an overall band score of 7.5 or above and a speaking band score of 7.5 or above. This sits alongside a broader move to strengthen language standards, as shown by the Education Bureau’s updated Language Proficiency Requirement framework for English and Putonghua teachers.
The explicit recognition of a sufficiently high IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score as satisfying the requirement indicates a broader policy shift towards common, externally benchmarked standards across the system, rather than an isolated rule aimed only at NETs.
Your correspondent suggests that IELTS is essentially for non-native speakers. In fact, guidance material from IELTS partners makes clear that native English speakers are also required to sit the test in various immigration and professional contexts, including for certain visas to countries such as Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, where authorities insist on standardised test evidence rather than assumptions based on nationality or schooling.