Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Blacklisted’ Stirling teacher employment tribunal hearings to begin next week

Rong Rong MacLeod says she has been "replaced" by Chinese-funded educators.

Rong Rong MacLeod. Image: Andrew Cawley
Rong Rong MacLeod. Image: Andrew Cawley

A Chinese teacher who claims she has been blocked from teaching in Scottish schools will take Stirling Council to an industrial tribunal next week.

As reported by The Courier last year, Rong Rong MacLeod says she stopped being able to get work as a support teacher or teaching assistant in Stirling following a “sinister” meeting with a Chinese government official.

The 63-year-old decided to take action against Stirling Council after failing to secure an interview for a permanent secondary school teaching post she feels she was “superbly qualified” for.

The consequent employment tribunal hearings will begin on Tuesday, April 1, taking place on every following week day until Tuesday, April 8.

Teacher’s concerns over Chinese influence in Scotland

Mrs MacLeod, who moved to Stirlingshire more than 20 years ago, is outspoken about her home country’s human rights atrocities.

She told The Sunday Post in December: “I believe I have been blacklisted by my own country because I refuse to ignore their past human rights abuses of not only Tiananmen, but also in Tibet and their treatment of the Uyghur people.

“I’m concerned Scotland may not be as aware as it should be over the influence China has gained through organisations such as the Confucius Institutes.”

Rong Rong MacLeod once taught at Forth Valley College. Image: Google Street View

The mother-of-two previously taught at both Falkirk and Forth Valley Colleges before becoming a General Teaching Council-registered school teacher, working in several Stirling primary and secondary schools.

She claims she came face to face with a representative of the Chinese government just before the Covid pandemic began.

Mrs MacLeod said: “During a tense meeting, he told me China had not forgotten my protest over the Tiananmen Square massacre. Then he said, ‘we are watching you’.”

She added: “Afterwards, I realised I was no longer receiving as many calls to work as a support teacher or even as a teaching assistant in Stirling.

“I was being replaced by teachers from the Confucius Institutes, which are ultimately paid for by China.”

Car parking fees set to rise in Stirling.
In advance of the hearings, Stirling Council said it cannot comment on individual employees. Image: Isla Glen/DC Thomson

Stirling Council statement

Last year, Stirling Council said: “We receive funding from the CISS [Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools] to contribute to the pay of one teacher at one of the Confucius hubs in our schools.

“The hubs help our young people learn about Chinese culture and language, broadening horizons and increase cultural awareness.

“Teachers working the hub use materials developed by Scotland’s National Centre for Languages.

“We do not comment on individual employees.”


For more Stirling news and features visit our page or join us on Facebook

Conversation