Education Bureau sees no legal ground for mutual recognition of teacher qualifications

In a response to lawmaker Sulu Sou’s interpellation, the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) expressed that the Bureau saw no legal ground supporting the recognition of mainland teacher qualifications in Macau, or vice versa.

In order to support the view, the Bureau has especially pointed out that any local teachers with the intention of teaching formally on the mainland are required to pass the pertinent qualification examinations.

The DSEJ reiterated the current legal requirements and procedures for non-local teachers to teach in Macau. Existing regulations state that teachers are considered professionals, given the requirement of a tertiary qualification in education. Foreign teachers, as such, will go through the procedures for non-local professional employees.

Such applications are normally submitted to the Labor Affairs Bureau (DSAL) by the employer. The DSEJ, meanwhile, acts as a consultative body. Decisions will be made based on the applicants’ qualifications and the current human resources situation in Macau.

A subsidy scheme has also been launched to encourage local students to enter the teaching profession. The scheme, which appears to resemble a scholarship, offers tuition subsidies for high-caliber students to pursue education degrees or post-graduate diplomas in education. In 2018, a total of 680 Macau citizens received subsidies from the scheme.

In the academic year spanning 2017 and 2018, 6% of all teachers left the field, which is lower than the average of 8% in 1999.

In February, Sou filed an interpellation, raising concerns that mutual recognition may endanger the employment environment for local teachers. Staff reporter