Job Discussion Forums

[Bertrand]

(This came up in another post and I was wondering what TEFLers in China thought. I'd be particulary interested in hearing from current EF staff.)

One problem EF English Farce are currently facing at the moment is what is known as the 10% scam, taken to great heights by many a diverse EF franchise.

The situation is as follows: for every student that enrolls on a course at an EF school, that school must - as part of its franchise agreement - pay 10% of all such fees to head office.

They have a system called EFACS onto which all students must be placed upon registration (this allows head office to tally income with students).

HOWEVER, many schools simply don't place students on the system thereby avoiding having to pay this commission to head office. Instead, they either put the students on the register (what EF call the 'attendence sheet') in pencil (or they simply don't bother doing anything).

The problem is, however, that as a teacher you are responsible for ensuring that ALL and ONLY EF students are in the classroom (it states this in the contract and job description where it refers to "EF clients"; if they are not on the system, they are not a client). It even states in your contract that, at the start of the first lesson, you are to check to see that everyone in the class has a validated receipt. If they are not on the EFACS system they will not have a (validated) receipt.

So what do you do? Tell head office and get sacked by what in one sense is your immediate employer (the school that is running the scam) or not tell head office thereby making yourself party to the fraud (that head office may well prosecute)?

Also, if the students are not on the EFACS system, no book will be sent from head office. Accordingly, you will find many EF students around China who have got a discount on their course for not insisting on a book. (And there are many, many schools that 'help each other out' in this regard by stockpiling books for other schools for when they themselves may need them.)

You will find that at many schools, most meetings and training sessions are not about TEFL matters but, rather, are about finding ways of keeping more and more students off the EF EFACS system.

What do you as a TEFLer in China think of this? How should TEFLers cope/react, etc.?

[richard ame]

Hi Bert
Seems to me you have two options go to the guy who's running the scam and ask him wheres your share if you don't like his answer then write to the head office and blow the whistle ,less mercenary types who may have a conscience may disregard the first option. Seems clear enough to me .

[Alex Shulgin]

I think that this thread will fall off the board as soon as somebody from EF sees it and emails to complain

[Lucy Snow]

We could all bet on how long this thread stays on.

[dduck]

[Roger]

I like this scam better than the ordinary ones that come in uncounted forms and shapes. THis is a classic "cosy deal".
Here, a minority of students get a 'rebate' or 'discount' for not using more or less useless textbooks (not that textbooks per se are bad, but if students do not like to use books then the books get useless, and most textbooks in China end up being a mere showpiece).
EF headquarters gets a share in profits (some would say a 'fair' share, implying that EF deserves a far worse deal than they were able to negotiate with their cheating Chinese franchise-takers).
The franchise-taker makes extra money which allows him to survive even though he has to pay royalties to an overseas-based private business and is employing foreign teachers.
And teachers have all the support from their employer they need - no more and no less.

Any time you want to blow the whistle in China, you should first look out for a new job!

[arioch36]

How about the language school scams where the public school teacher gets a kickback for each student they deliver for a language schools summer program? Would you like to be the child whos parents said no?

[Bertrand]

[Bertrand]

[dduck]

[Belmont]

Can anyone give me an overall picture of what English First is like? Are they reputable, generally speaking? I know they have schools all over the place and each school is different. Thanks! Jim

[Bertrand]

[Bertrand]

[Cobra]

This appears more a business management problem than teacher relations one.

Why can't ESl teachers in China just do the job they are paid to do and let the business people do their thing?

If the main company has not protected itself with proper accounting/audit/inspection safeguards, what business is it of a teacher.

And so what if your employer is a rip-off artist scumbag? Are you the one being riped off?

Now about your contract obligations - if someone shows up for class who does not belong there according to your official roster, tell them they do not belong there and move on with your class. You are not the gestapo.

This non-problem is like making a mountain out of a mole hill. No teacher is going to be sued in China for such a thing. Get real amigo!

[Bertrand]