Coronavirus: Can Teachers Last?

Since the beginning of February, teachers have found themselves in a predicament because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Recently, a teacher from a school I used to work for came out to the press regarding his situation. He highlighted the mistreatment from schools and his financial stress because of the situation. The question is, how long can teachers last under these circumstances?

Luckily for myself, I am fortunate to be in a school that has fantastic morals and insists on paying their teachers in full. They have responded tremendously to the pandemic, offering daily ZOOM lessons from the beginning. They have ensured that the parents get a swift supply of learning materials to facilitate home learning. My situation and the other teachers do not compare with some others.

The Struggle

Schools and learning centres are struggling to keep their businesses afloat. A well known international kindergarten that is near my area had to close. This was due to the lack of returning students who were willing to pay the tuition fees. With high rent costs in Hong Kong and high staff costs, international schools heavily rely on the income generated by the tuition fees.

This is not to say all schools are struggling. Schools that are funded by the government will get packages to help them keep afloat, however most international schools are privately owned. Most international schools are facing a lot of criticism from parents for many different reasons. The biggest complaint is the tuition fee. Some schools have not even lowered their fees during this pandemic, angering many.

For tuition centres, it is an even worse scenario. They aren’t considered as schools and will get little support from the government. Tuition centres are all located in prime areas that have high rent. Teachers get paid well so operating costs can be high. A lot of parents have pulled from tuition centres as the classrooms are tiny. The classrooms are compact and can be very crowded. Tuition centres are not essential.

Impact on Teachers

Teachers have had a difficult two months since the coronavirus became a pandemic. Some teachers have been laid off, had salaries cut or even found new work hard to come by. It is a challenging period that will recover when the pandemic becomes less severe. However, the impact has brought many teachers to their knees.

Having no salary for two months have forced some to move back to their country or even declare bankruptcy. It is no joke when any human being has to come to that conclusion that they simply can’t fund themselves or even their family. For the average teacher in Hong Kong, at least 30% of their salary goes towards rent. With the reductions in their salary, there is no leeway for paying bills and even standard living costs.

Tuition has taken the biggest hit. Even though online learning is an alternative, there is a lot of competition on the internet. A standard one hour private lesson in Hong Kong is around 400HKD (50 USD approximately) which is considerably high. You can’t replicate traditional methods to an online platform for many reasons. Private tutors have seen a big decrease in their student numbers and finding a new stream of students hard to come by.

My thoughts on online learning: http://www.mrgregenglish.com/is-online-teaching-viable/

Can Teachers Last?

Can anyone last with no income for two months? Hong Kong has high rent and we simply cannot survive if you don’t have an income for two months. The main issue teachers have, like many others, is how the industry will recover. There are a lot of teachers out of works, meaning that the market will become that much more competitive.

Those who have support and savings can survive this pandemic. Those who have stayed put will benefit when the market stabilises. In the time being, all we can do is keep working hard and take the necessary precautions during this time. The demand for teachers will be evermore when the coronavirus is contained.

For more information regarding the affects on the coronavirus in the education sector in Hong Kong: https://www.edb.gov.hk/en/