Despite regulations to the contrary (including the newest ones released this week), most English teachers in Beijing are able to land jobs without a background check, a South China Morning Post reporter posing as a teacher candidate discovered.
The reporter barely had his resume examined before being offered a position where he'd be spending his work hours managing a classroom of pre-schoolers. The SCMP reports: "Armed only with a basic résumé, a Post reporter walked in to a language school in a modern, high-rise building in Beijing's central business district. The reporter was immediately asked to register as a teacher at the school without an interview or further questioning."
The report continues: "Asked whether a work visa or background checks were required, the school said they were not necessary."
Background checks, which were made mandatory last year after a spate of incidents featuring expats behaving badly, appear often to be ignored in the hiring process.
SCMP's story goes on to reveal more details of their investigation, which many may find shocking, while others might find simply par for the course in Beijing's English-teaching scene: A native-speaking Czech asked to create an American alter-ego for her class; a teacher offered a RMB 12,000 per month job teaching pre-schoolers on the basis of a photo submission alone.
Much of this can be traced back to Beijing's obsession with learning English, where the demand for foreign teachers has always outstripped supply, and where a foreign-looking face is often the only qualification a school (or a parent) looks for in their English teacher. SCMP reports that foreign teachers typically earn between RMB 10,000 and RMB 16,000 per month, while top international school salaries can exceed RMB 41,000 monthly.
The new regulations announced this week require most foreign teachers to have at least five years of relevant experience, while language teachers "should have Chinese teacher certificates or international language teaching qualifications [such as] Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL), and The Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT)."
With the new regulations going into effect in October, it's too early to tell what direction this will go for most in the English teaching profession here: Will hiring standards be tightened as the law is enforced, or will it just result in a proliferation of fake TESOL degrees?
Photo: the Beijinger
With the new regulations going into effect in October, it's too early to tell what direction this will go for most in the English teaching profession here: Will hiring standards be tightened as the law is enforced, or will it just result in a proliferation of fake TESOL degrees?
I don't see anything happening, or changing.
