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The historical roots of The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) can be traced back to 1853 when the first formalised programme of in-service teacher training was introduced in St Paul’s College and 1881 when the first Government Normal School was established by the then Governor of Hong Kong, John Pope Hennessy, in Wan Chai. 
 
With increasing interest in and demand for teacher education from the government and the public, Northcote College of Education (1939), Grantham College of Education (1951), Sir Robert Black College of Education (1960), the Hong Kong Technical Teachers’ College (1974) and the Institute of Language in Education (1982) were founded respectively to provide formal teacher education in Hong Kong.

On 25 April 1994, under the recommendation made by the Education Commission Report No. 5 (ECR 5), The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) was formally established by statue by amalgamating the former four Colleges of Education and the Institute of Language in Education with a view to upgrading teacher education and professional development.

 

From 1994 to 1997, HKIEd operated from the main office on Hong Kong Island and seven campuses, offering mainly Certificate Courses in Education and In-service Training Courses. In 1996, HKIEd came under the aegis of the University Grants Committee. The Institute moved to its Tai Po campus a year later.

 

The first cohort of the 4-year full-time Bachelor of Education (Honours) students admitted in 1998 graduated in 2002.

 

HKIEd was granted self-accrediting status for education programmes by the Government in 2004.

 

In 2009, HKIEd unveiled the Strategic Plan for 2009 – 2012 and Beyond – “Planning for the Future, Making a Difference”, following the Government’s endorsement of the stand-alone option proposed by the University Grants Committee’s Review Group for it to become an education-focused, research-strong and multi-disciplinary institution.

 

The Institute, in its 2010/11 academic year, launched its first non-Education programmes of Bachelor of Arts in Language Studies and Bachelor of Social Sciences in Global and Environmental Studies, followed by the third non-Education programme, Bachelor of Arts in Creative Arts and Culture, in the 2011/2012 academic year.

 

In 2014, HKIEd submitted its university title application to the Education Bureau. In 2015, UGC submitted its review report to the Education Bureau, recommending that a university title be awarded to the Institute.

 

On 26 January 2016, the Chief Executive in Council approved the retitling of HKIEd. Following the gazettal of the Hong Kong Institute of Education (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 on 27 May 2016, the Institute has been retitled “The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK)”. EdUHK conferred degrees on the first batch of its graduates in 2016.

 

In 2017, EdUHK unveiled Strategic Plan 2016-25.

 

EdUHK was granted full self-accrediting status for all its programme offerings effective 1 April 2018.