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WARNING!!!! AMARAPURA PARTNERS (MYANMAR)

 
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Patrickortreat



Joined: 24 Mar 2015
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 3:14 am    Post subject: WARNING!!!! AMARAPURA PARTNERS (MYANMAR) Reply with quote

There have been too many complaints to count with this "company."
Teachers, PLEASE beware. Myanmar is an amazing country and while there may not be a huge amount of job opportunities, DO NOT be a part of this "business"; it is not worth it under ANY circumstances. Newbies and veterans alike have either quit for VERY good reasons or lost their jobs for nothing. If you have been a victim of this "(dis)organization, please detail your grievances here on this forum. I know there are many of you out there...
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mystical



Joined: 19 Apr 2015
Posts: 1
Location: Phnom Penh

PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2015 3:55 pm    Post subject: Think Twice Before Working for Amarapura Partners! Reply with quote

I was hired by Amurapura Partners for a 3-month contract job. I should have noticed something was fishy when a contract never materialized. What did materialize was a letter from the company to assist me in getting a 70-day business visa. The interesting thing about that was that I was expected to remain in the country for 3 months (they said they had some special way of extending the visa), but, then, their letter of hire only mentioned being employed by them for a little shy of six weeks. I asked about this, but the director chose not to reply to my email.

The company sent teachers out to various schools and companies to teach English classes for varying lengths of time. Often, we didn't know where were would be teaching until the very last minute. At other times, classes were cancelled suddenly, with equally short notice. There was often little or no communication about the level or age of students we'd be teaching. And, on one occasion, I arrived at a school prepared for a class that the school administrators knew nothing about.

Chaotic work assignments were bad enough, but the company also suffered from a lack of liquidity. Pay and flight reimbursements were repeatedly delayed. And, a few people had to wait weeks past their pay dates to receive any money. On one occasion we were told to come for our pay at 3pm and then at 5pm. At 5pm, they only had enough money to pay half the teachers. Others were told to come back at 6:30 pm, and for some, pay was not forthcoming for another few days. (Those in rural areas had to wait weeks.) Hum... All of this caused me to wonder what was really going on behind the scenes.

Shortly before I left, pictures the teachers had provided for a brochure appeared in a local Mandalay newspaper to promote the education company. Several days later, I noticed that my face and the faces of all the other teachers had been plastered on the walls of a new education building the company had invested in. Maintaining a fake smile around town became all but impossible.

At the end of the day, I wish I’d gone in on a tourist visa and saved myself all the hassle.
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EFL Educator



Joined: 17 Jul 2013
Posts: 988
Location: Cape Town

PostPosted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 1:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

They offered me a job too...I saw the writing on the wall...no way!
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teacherjo



Joined: 12 Jul 2015
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 5:18 am    Post subject: Status Change Reply with quote

I don't work here anymore

Last edited by teacherjo on Mon Nov 16, 2015 1:32 pm; edited 1 time in total
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cellyinthez



Joined: 31 Dec 2013
Posts: 9
Location: USA

PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 2:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi,

I have been working for this company for about a month, and I have to say, I've been having a pretty great time. I brought up this review during the interview, and they were very candid about what went wrong and how they've fixed it, and I haven't encountered any severe problems. Though this warning lists no specifics, the company said that in the past there had been late payments and disorganization. There is still some minor disorganization and last minute changes, but overall the bosses have been friendly and accommodating, the pay has been on time (and even early upon request), the housing great, and the classes good as well.

This organization isn't perfect, but it also deserves at least details behind a bad review. Though I have only been here slightly over a month, my coworkers who've been here up to a year, and my friend who completed a contract here, had few complaints. At least in the last year, no one has been fired without a very good reason.

I am personally very happy here, and would readily recommend this school.
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teacherjo



Joined: 12 Jul 2015
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 2:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't work here anymore.

Last edited by teacherjo on Tue May 17, 2016 1:00 pm; edited 3 times in total
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teacherjo



Joined: 12 Jul 2015
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 10:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't work here anymore.
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EFL Educator



Joined: 17 Jul 2013
Posts: 988
Location: Cape Town

PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 1:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Most men live lives of quiet desperation...and then there are EFL Teachers in Myanmar that are living in working conditions and receiving wages of desperation". Shocked
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teacherjo



Joined: 12 Jul 2015
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 3:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Only four teachers left, this school seems to be on the decline
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teacherjo



Joined: 12 Jul 2015
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 5:16 pm    Post subject: Anyone still working here? Reply with quote

Just curious if anyone was still working here?

Is the school even still open?
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simon44



Joined: 15 Mar 2013
Posts: 118

PostPosted: Thu Nov 23, 2017 3:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:

Just curious if anyone was still working here?
Is the school even still open?


I worked at AP last year, but left to take up a job offer in Naypyidaw.

The school is certainly still open and has opened new branches in other regional towns.

There isn't a fundamental problem with the school. Rather, it seems to be the 'chopping and changing' decisions of the school owner, who is based at the Mandalay branch. I found his decision-changes to be very frustrating.

If you work at a branch in another city, then those changes shouldn't affect you as much as working in the same office as the owner.

The salary is rather low, when compared to alternative employers.

Bear in mind that some of the regional branches are in small, remote cities, with few other foreigners and minimal facilities. You need to be a hardened Asia expat to survive OK in locations like that.
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