Children attend an event marking the new semester at Yaumati Catholic Primary School in south China's Hong Kong, September 2, 2019. Photo:Xinhua

Hong Kong and central government officials condemned a teacher whose professional credentials have been "deregistered" for systematically spreading pro-secessionism messages, stressing that promotion of secessionism will not be tolerated in Hong Kong's schools. 

Leung Chun-ying, Vice Chairman of National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and former Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) chief executive, wrote on Facebook that Hong Kong schools should provide no room for teaching secessionism.

"Our schools should prohibit teachers from preaching the idea of 'Hong Kong independence,' and actively and unequivocally oppose it, leaving no room for neutrality," wrote Leung. 

Leung also said in a previous interview that the autonomy of schools should be respected, but not in the face of major issues such as splitting the country and sovereignty. 

Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, chief secretary for administration of the HKSAR government called the case a "serious violation of professional ethics" as the teacher in question systematically disseminated messages of "Hong Kong independence," causing a far-reaching impact and damage to students. 

Cheung stressed that it is the duty of the community to protect the interests of students and the responsibility of teachers to uphold their professionalism. 

"We should work together to put education back on the right track and never allow the undesirable trend of secession to spread in schools," Cheung wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday. 

The Hong Kong Education Bureau investigated more than 200 complaints of misconduct by teachers between June 2019 to August 2020, and sent reprimands and warning letters to 33 teachers.