More than half of teachers fail English writing and Putonghua listening assessments

Over half of the primary and secondary teachers failed the English writing paper and Putonghua listening paper in the proficiency assessment test conducted by the government, according to the results report.

Since 2001, the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) and the Education Bureau have jointly conducted the annual Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers (LPAT), which assesses their English Language and Putonghua proficiency in teaching the respective subjects. 

A total of 1,475 test takers participated in the English tests, with 1,068 taking part in the writing examination, which saw a 54 percent failure rate, a 10 percent increase compared to the previous year.

Nearly 34 percent of the candidates failed the English-speaking test.

As all test takers have to score an overall "Level 3" or above in each of the relevant papers, about 577 failed the writing paper and had to retake the exams in order to be allowed to teach the English language.

Out of the 1,810 candidates for the Putonghua proficiency tests, 1,257 took part in the Listening and Recognition paper, with 44.5 percent receiving a pass, a 13 percent decrease in the pass rate.

About 700 candidates had to retake the tests because they could not meet the relevant requirements.