Job Discussion Forums

[puiwaihin]

I've been trying to contact anyone at the EDB for the past 2 weeks now with zero luck. Are they all on vacation or something?? I've tried multiple emails listed on http://www.west-web.net/pnet/ and multiple phone numbers. With email I get no response and with phone calls to any number I get no answer.

My phone contact information has changed and I wanted to get the new number to them, but I'm getting no response at all.

Were they all sucked into a black hole or something??

[sm]

I know a few people have left and one guy that replaced someone that left has also resigned so you never know maybe they have all had enough!

Try this number: 28926498

Good luck

[puiwaihin]

Thanks for that phone number! I finally found out what was happening. You are correct that it was because people had quit.

If you were in contact with Alan Ho, he is no longer working at the EDB on the NET scheme. The new employees don't have access to his emails. The phone number he was assigned is no longer in use, though it still rings.

The number sm provided will let you contact the edb, and their general email still works.

If anyone else is having the same trouble I was, I suggest calling them directly. That should help you resolve things.

[Serious_Fun]

[marksy]

To Serious_Fun,

Yeah, it's amazing how my tip of an apartment got tidied, bills filed etc while I was waiting for the EDB. Didn't take long for the place to return to its usual state, mind you

I signed the contract to be an EDB PNET on Tuesday. It's been a long and winding road!

To those who haven't heard from any schools at all yet:

Yes, it's getting late in the day, but I know there are still schools looking for a PNET - I was contacted by one on Tuesday. Let me tell you my experience. I am based in HK, and was working in a Primary School as a PNET, but not through the NET scheme. By the end of June, I hadn't heard from any schools and I was getting a bit jittery (even though Alan Ho at the EDB was reassuring me that my CV was being circulated to schools. He's since left. And from what puiwaihin says, his replacement has too). I decided to get proactive - I wrote my Cover letter, amended my CV and applied by snail mail to every primary school (DSS and Aided) in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. I didn't send it to any schools in the New Territories because I live on HK Island and I didn't want to commute too far.

The school names, addresses of the schools and principals' names are on these lists:

http://www.edb.gov.hk/index.aspx?langno=1&nodeid=480

http://chsc.edb.hkedcity.net/primary/


For the record, that's 254 schools in Kowloon and HK Island! - a lot of changing of letter-heads, printing of address labels, buying of stamps and envelopes, printing - 4 cartidges, and a lot of time!

There is no way to know which schools are looking for PNETS, that's why I sent off applications to the lot. I would suggest that if you haven't heard anything yet from any schools, why not do the same? Or choose some random schools in areas you might like? Better than sitting at home waiting, isn't it? I would hazard a guess that most schools on HK Island would have a PNET by now, as most PNETS want to live on HK Island. How about trying the schools in the New Territories?

If you're not in HK, that's going to cost a lot of money. How about sending an email addressed to many schools? Or faxing?

For those at different stages of the application process, here is my timeline:

[b]July 7 -[/b] Interview, offered the position. Principal filled in the application form to employ me in his school on the same day and sent it to the EDB.

[b]July 11 [/b]- Sent off the last of my "Certificates of Service" by fax to the EDB. Your application cannot proceed further to Salary Assessment until you have these Certs from all the schools you have worked in, because they need them to work out your Salary before they make you a Provisional offer. These Certs of Service must include:

your full name (as shown in your birth certificate/ marriage certificate/ passport);
length of employment *, with exact dates; (i.e. from dd/mm/yy to dd/mm/yy);
nature of employment (i.e. whether full-time or part-time);
for part-time employment, fraction of full-time experience is needed (e.g. 0.3 full time equivalent);
nature of school (i.e. whether day school or evening school);
subject(s) taught; and
age and levels/grades of students taught.
* CONTINUOUS EMPLOYMENT LESS THAN 3 MONTHS WOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED.

So if you haven't got those ready yet, contact your old schools now.

[b]July 24[/b] - Provisional Offer by the EDB (while waiting, after 2 phone calls to EDB were not returned, I asked my Principal to call them up and after he did the Prov. offer was ready that same day). Contact Tess Tse at the EDB, phone no. 2892 6498. She seems to be in charge now Phoebe Mok, Faye Chan, Alan Ho and others have left. Keep trying if you don't get through but remember to be polite, she's just doing her job in difficult circumstances, and she's lovely).

[b]July 25[/b]- I sent off the Proforma of Acceptance by fax to the EDB and was emailed by them that they had received it the same day. I contacted my Principal, and he sent someone round to the EDB to collect my file.

[b]July 29[/b] - Signed contract.

I have a HKID card and do not require a work visa so have no idea how long that may take.

Hope any of this helps. All the best! Patience is the key (I chewed off half my fingers, but they're growing back now)

Marksy

[hkteach]

[quote="marksy
I would hazard a guess that most schools on HK Island would have a PNET by now, as most PNETS want to live on HK Island. How about trying the schools in the New Territories?

Marksy[/quote]

Good on you for being so proactive (and clever) marksy. 'Your perseverance has paid off.

But, first rule of school selection - don't jjudge a book by it's cover (or in this case by its location!) I did with my first school and had big regrets that I didn't use any other criteria.

While schools on HK island are popular for geographical reasons, those of us who are here and on the EDB NET scheme know only too well that location alone does not maketh a good school.

In fact many on HK island and other "desirable" locations are not all they seem. Many consider themselves "prestigious" and indeed are described throughout HK as "elite" but this usually means that they are pressure cookers for their staff and students AND THEIR NET.

Our grapevine is pretty good and those who've had bad experiences at the hands of megolaniac principals have put the word out. No current PNET who is in the communications loop would ever dream of applying to some of these places which are generally held in high regard by the HK locals but who have treated their NETs very shabbily indeed. This means that these schools will most probably get new recruits who won't know the previous history.
The person who is taking over my recently-vacated position has been through the mincer with her current school in the NT and seeing the last three NETs have broken contract just to get out of there, it must be pretty bad. She was a new NET and didn't know the history but found out soon enough.
Unfortunately, a newbie who just doesn't know what's gone on before is likely to get that school.

This is not to say you haven't got a good school marksy - I sincerely hope you have. Friends of mine are very happy in HK Island schools (not "elite"or "famous"ones though) just as other friends are happy in the New Territories. And just because a school is still looking in June doesn't necessarily mean anything - lots of schools get late notice from their NET so they start looking later than others. One of the best schools I've had wasn't looking till July.

It's more of a warning to those who aren't yet here to be wary - all that glitters is not gold. There are good and bad schools in every area of HK.

I suggest to all newbies that when a school contacts you, ask questions here or on www.hkpnetsforum.com and somebody will respond.

[marksy]

Hi hkteach,

I definitely agree with you that the location of the school has no correlation to what the school is actually like and what experience you are going to have there.

From what many have said, what is important is what the Principal is like - is he/she going to support you, be friendly etc or is he/she going to be very demanding, give you the cold shoulder etc. The Principal's attitude towards the NET will have a knock-on effect with the other staff. It could be the difference between enjoying or hating your job.

I chose my school in Kowloon firstly because of location. In the past, I travelled an hour and a half to school within HK so I guess I have an ingrained fear of commuting!

At the interview itself, I just had a very good feeling. I was interviewed by the Principal, V.P. and EPC and they just seemed like decent people who I would like to work with. (Of course, you can't judge a book by its cover ) Time will tell.

The workload seemed quite reasonable (23 lessons a week) and working hours standard. Again, i guess duties can increase over time.

The school is not famous by any means, and I have heard that the level of English is not fantastic. The school needs to reduce classes, in fact. I chose this school for the above factors.

I also agree that any newbie should ask on the PNETS website you gave the link for, whether the school they may sign a contract with, is on the "Black list" - teachers have had bad experiences there. While I certainly think that you should stay clear of any schools where several NETS have broken contracts to leave, could it be said that if only one NET said bad things about the place, this does not necessarily mean it's a bad school? For example, it could have been personal issues between NET and school, differences in expectations and work ethics between the NET and school etc. Perhaps the school made mistakes with the previous NET eg too many duties, too heavy a workload etc but has bucked its ideas up for the new NET.

Anyway, I'm a newbie myself so I certainly don't know what it's all about yet, that will take time.

Cheers,

Marksy

[Serious_Fun]

[hkteach]

Good fro you marksy. It seems as though you did your research. Glad to hear you're not going to one of those named and shamed places.

This highlights the poiint I was making - those who are here (and who read the boards, communicate with other NETs etc.) can avoid the known bad places and therefore have a better chance of being happy in their next job.

For newbies, it's a lottery. All they have to go on is email or, if they're a bit luckier, a telephone interview. Still no substitute for a face to face meeting.
While I had a bad experience in my first school, I got a better gig second time around and that's because I actually had a face to face interview and could go on my instincts.
This is why I suggested that newbies, who can't be here for interviews, would be well advised to make contact with the established NETs and use their eyes and ears to get some advice before signing.

When I was last looking for a job, I attended many interviews and had quite a few offers. When considering which one I wanted, I ended up deciding not to accept any offers from the seemingly-good schools where the principal didn't attend the interview.... maybe too busy, maybe NET program not important, maybe some other reason, but I wanted to meet the principal and see if I could suss out the power base and the politics and see if we were on the same page so to speak.

Having said all that, Serious Fun makes a very good point. Sometimes principals hand over responsibility for the NET to EPC, SET or the curriculum coordinator and these people can also make your life difficult. But it's been my experience that if you get along well with your principal, at least half the battle is won.