Job Discussion Forums

[eihpos]

Are public universities actually required to have a certain number of native English teachers teaching on their English programme/department by the ministry of education? Or are there some government universities that just have Chinese English teachers? Just wondering!

[Non Sequitur]

I actually don't know.
BUT there is so much done in the name of student recruitment, that having a lot of (native) English teachers is often a marketing ploy.
At my last school a number of special entry students were guaranteed a certain amount of classtime with a FT.
At Dalian Maritime, FTs were allocated extra classes in the week government inspectors were on campus.
This tends to suggest that this uni wasn't meeting its quota.

[cormac]

It depends on whether they have applied for funding on either the provincial or state level regarding foreign teachers. I don't think there's any requirement for them to have such a programme, but many universities in Tier 2/3 cities used to do it because it's profitable. The free housing for teachers is usually part of the funding requirements.


I've known some universities which only had Chinese teachers for their English courses, and brought in foreigners on a part-time basis to avoid the need for official recognition. Some smaller colleges also seem to lack the influence to get the actual funding approval.

[eihpos]

That’s interesting Cormac. I’ve been in my place about for a year and the four foreign teachers all do our own thing in class, have complete freedom in that regard, with very little interference from management. I was wondering where we fit in in their overall curriculum. I was certainly never told any aims for the course. In other words, why are we there? I don’t think it’s student recruitment where I am, but the funding thing is definitely likely.

[cormac]