How to become a primary school teacher
Official title: Primary school teachers
Primary school teachers teach a range of subjects at the primary education level.
Main tasks
- Preparing daily and longer term lesson plans in accordance with curriculum guidelines
- Instructing children individually and in groups, using various teaching methods and materials (e.g. computers, books, games), adapting to children’s varying needs
- Maintaining discipline and good working habits in the classroom
- Planning and conducting activities with the children such as sporting activities, concerts and excursions
- Assigning and grading class work and homework
- Preparing, administering and grading tests and assignments to evaluate children’s progress
- Observing and evaluating children’s performance and behaviour
- Supervising children during classes and at other times in the school day, including the playground during breaks
- Participating in staff meetings and other sessions, and conferring with other teachers concerning educational issues
- Preparing for and attending parent meetings to discuss children’s progress and problems
Ways in
- University: Education & Teaching degrees, Offered by 14 universities in Hong Kong
- Licence or registration: Registering body: Education Bureau. Law: Education Ordinance (教育條例), Cap. 279. Summary by Peernovo; check the body's current rules.
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: HK$48,000 a month
- About 1,542,900 people in 2025, and about 1,639,100 projected by 2028. (+6.2%)
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
How do I become a primary school teacher?
Ways in include: Education & Teaching degrees.
Do you need a degree to become a primary school teacher?
Usually. 91% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Will AI change the work of a primary school teacher?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026