Some schools in Hong Kong have failed to meet a Tuesday government deadline to file launch plans for national security education, marking a slow start to the initiative under related legislation imposed by Beijing.

Education minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said on Wednesday that only “a proportion of schools” had submitted their plans for instilling patriotism in students and incorporating national security-related themes into activities and subjects.

“Regarding the national security education report, we had asked schools to submit it to the Education Bureau before the end of August. Of course, a proportion of schools have submitted it, but not all have done so,” Yeung said.

He would not reveal how many schools had missed the deadline, nor did he mention any consequences. But Yeung did say authorities would scrutinise the plans in detail to ensure school administrators were properly launching national security education on campus.

A bureau spokesman also declined to say how many schools had failed to file their plans on time or whether there would be repercussions.

“We are processing the relevant documents handed in by schools and will follow up with those which have missed the deadline for submission,” he said.

Last year, Beijing imposed a national security law on the city outlawing acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. The law also requires Hong Kong schools and universities to promote national security education in the classroom, with the bureau releasing detailed guidelines on the subject in February.

The guidelines covered aspects ranging from school management to pupils’ behaviour, and suggested children as young as six should learn about the four offences under the security legislation.

In the months since, the bureau has also issued syllabus guidelines on incorporating national security education into at least 15 subjects, including physics, history, chemistry, business and accounting, and information technology.

According to the bureau’s timetable, schools are supposed to be prepared to fully launch national security education in the 2022-23 academic year.

But in a survey released by the pro-government Shine Tak Foundation in June, some 80 per cent of 218 schools polled reported difficulties in implementing national education. Only about 54 per cent said they were ready to teach the subject.

Among reasons cited were a lack of understanding of the subject and the need for more time to read up on new government guidelines.

The Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers also called for setting up a special centre to offer training and support for teachers on national security education.

In a written reply on Wednesday to a question from lawmaker Lo Wai-kwok, Yeung promised officials would enhance support for schools by developing learning and teaching resources, training educators and organising student activities.

“We will continuously follow up on the implementation of [national security education] in individual schools and related matters through different channels such as school visits and regular contact with schools,” Yeung said in the reply.

Wong Ching-yung, principal of Scientia Secondary School in Ho Man Tin, said on Wednesday that his school was ready to implement national security education, having produced its own teaching materials and incorporated the topic into other subjects.

Wong also noted that his school had recently been hit by an exodus of educators, with about a fifth of its 60 teachers quitting. But he said he considered the departures a blessing in disguise.

“We later found out that these teachers might have had different opinions about Hong Kong’s political or social situation. They have headed to another environment that suits them; it’s a good thing from an education perspective,” he said.

“It helped our school be non-political. If [they had not left], they might have affected our students with antisocial or anti-nation ideology.”

The vacancies had already been filled before the start of the new school year, he added.

Wong noted that about 20 students had also quit the school since the anti-government protests of 2019, with some emigrating to other countries, and others moving to mainland China.

Additional reporting by Chan Ho-him