NET Qualifications Assessment Questions

[Mary.H]

Hey everyone,

I'm trying to understand the qualifications required to be a registered teacher. Please provide any clarifications.

I've been teaching in HK for two years now, through a recruitment agency which assigned me to a primary school. I've been teaching ESL since 2016, however. This year I decided to became a direct hire so I submitted my qualifications to Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic & Vocational Qualifications to get a registered teacher status. I have a Bachelor's degree in English Literature and a CELTA.

Based on the EDB website, I understand that my qualifications puts me in category 4. And that the EDB recognizes the CELTA as a teaching qualification.

Category 4 (to be appointed at APSM rank, MPS pt. 15-29, with salary bar at MPS Point 20)

• a bachelor’s degree in any subject from a Hong Kong university or equivalent; and
• a TEFL/TESL qualification at least at certificate level, or an equivalent course of study recognised by the EDB*.

However when I submitted my qualifications to HKCAAVQ, my BA was validated by my CELTA was not. The letter I received stated that my CELTA does not meet EBD requirements. When I email HKCAAVQ for clarification, this is the response I got:

"HKCAAVQ’s assessment represents an independent professional opinion, which is one of the factors to be considered by the Education Bureau (EDB) to determine a teacher’s eligibility for registration. The assessment therefore makes reference to EDB’s assessment guidelines for teacher professional training, which state that local initial teacher training programme requires at least one-year or equivalent full-time study. Based on the submitted information and the information gathered during assessment, your Cambridge English Level 5 Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA) (QCF) awarded by Cambridge English Language Assessment, the United Kingdom, does not meet the requirements of the local initial teacher training programmes (e.g. Teacher’s Certificate, Bachelor of Education and Postgraduate Diploma in Education) as specified by the EDB."

I should point out that there is no CELTA certification course that takes 1 year. I did the four-week full time 120-hr intensive CELTA course in person in New York.

So basically, the EBD recognizes my CELTA but the HKCAAVQ says my CELTA does not meet EBD requirements. Please explain to me what I'm missing?

Thank you in advanced!

[tpr007]

Your CELTA is accepted by the EDB for the net scheme. It is not necessary to get it accredited by the HKCAAVQ as it is not one of the qualifications they deal with.

For example, my degree was checked by the HKCAAVQ, my PGCE was checked by the HKCAAVQ, but my CertTESOL was not. It is, however, on the list of accepted qualifications.
Those 3 qualifications are considered relevant for my category for the NET scheme.

[mexmon]

Is it safe to assume you have been working at a learning centre, not a proper school? The bar for teaching credentials for a learning centre is lower compared to a school. To be a registered teacher, you usually need a Master’s in education with a practicum component or a PGCE, as the Council for Accreditation requires you to have a minimum number of supervised teaching hours.
The NET scheme is very competitive as salaries and benefits are sometimes higher than international schools. A friend of mine who has been working for the British Council for years teaching English in Europe and Asia was not accepted into the NET because of the situation I described.

[tpr007]

Is it safe to assume you have been working at a learning centre, not a proper school? The bar for teaching credentials for a learning centre is lower compared to a school. To be a registered teacher, you usually need a Master’s in education with a practicum component or a PGCE, as the Council for Accreditation requires you to have a minimum number of supervised teaching hours.
The NET scheme is very competitive as salaries and benefits are sometimes higher than international schools. A friend of mine who has been working for the British Council for years teaching English in Europe and Asia was not accepted into the NET because of the situation I described.

are you talking to me or the OP?

You don’t need the above to be a registered teacher in Hong Kong or on the NET scheme. I know some people on the scheme that aren’t qualified teachers in this or their own country. Strange as it sounds. You can get on the net scheme with only a degree in any subject and a celta. No teaching degree or masters. Although pay Is capped.