Comparison of Total Number of Hours Teachers Work Per Week between 2018 and 2020

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Education whether the total number of hours that teachers have to work per week has increased or decreased for (i) 2019 compared to 2018 and (ii) 2020 compared to 2019.

In 2018, our internal survey was focused on measuring specific components in teachers' workload. In subsequent years, our surveys had a more comprehensive coverage on teachers' workload. In 2020, due to disruptions caused by the circuit breaker, we did not conduct the typical workload survey. Instead, we conducted a series of polls to regularly monitor teachers' sentiments and morale during the pandemic.

We, therefore, do not have comparable data for 2018 and 2020. Nevertheless, comparing the data from the 2019 and 2021 surveys, the average workload has gone up slightly from about 51 hours to about 53 hours per week during term time.