Job Discussion Forums

[amewburn]

Does anyone know if it is now legal for Filipinos and Indians (From India) to teach English in Indonesia as long as they have a Master Degree in English?

[jhemmila]

As far as I know, it's been legal for a long time, as long as you're considered an "educational consultant" or something like that. Most of the National Plus schools in Batam employ Filipinos.

[amewburn]

Educational Consultants cannot teach at all, they would have a business visa, and not a Kitas.
To be an English teacher or a lecturer teaching English you must have a legitimate Kitas.

[malu]

Technically they can't get permits as English teachers and this is not something new. However, this being Indonesia... it is possible to make a substantial donation to the pension fund of certain officials and have such things as nationality overlooked, and given that you can employ a Filipino for half of what it would cost for an Aus/Can/NZ/UK/US expat this can make financial sense if the Filipino is an experienced teacher with a neutral accent.

I understand that the donation required each year has gone up to such an extent that it is only marginally cost-effective now.

[markustm]

Strictly legally the answer to your question is a big "No," however most Nat-plus and some International schools do hire Filipinos as subject teachers.

Usually in these schools the majority of Filipino teachers are either Maths or Science teachers, who teach their subject through English.

Recently the MOE are revising the teacher ratios for Non-Indonesian, and Indonesian teachers at these schools- which could affect hiring practices after the end of the school year.

In the ESL field their are both Filipino and Indian Teachers teaching English. This is strictly illegal, although as Malu stated, it depends on how flexible the immigration department is.

Technically on US, UK, Australian, and New Zealand citizens can teach English in Indonesia. Although some lower end schools do hire "near natives."

It also may depend on where you studied your Masters in English. Filipino degrees are currently accepted in Indonesia, but like most things in Indonesia, finding a job really "depends on the situation."

[amewburn]

Actually I have lived in Indonesia for 13 years, so I know a lot about "Under the table payments."

Having said that I also have worked with Filipinos who are emplyed by National Plus Schools as subject teachers, teaching Math, Science or Physics in English, BUT not English itself.

However I heard recently that Filipinos and Indians, even though they are not "Native Speakers," can now teach English legally in Indonesia.
Quite frankly I don't believe it, but would like to have something to show our HRM, before he stuffs up and starts employing them to teach in the university I am working for.

I really need the Pasal from Dikti or Diknas which clearly states the regulation.

[travelNteach]

markustm u forgot canada.

you guys are right in that non-native speakers such as indians, filipinos, singaporeans, malaysian, etc are able to be hired as subject teachers and/or grade teachers. these are for schools that use english as the language of instruction. of course most of them also end up teaching english, either a few classes here and there or full time, even though techinically they arent supposed to. so no bribes needed as stated by malu. it is perfectally legal

however, non native speakers cannot be hired at language schools as their only purpose is to teach english. that said, the dos at cempaka mas is a filipino i believe. but i think it is getting a lot harder for those under the table payments that amewburn refers to. 13 years ago it was common to find non-native white europeans teaching in EF and other language schools. now u dont see it often at all.

[guruengerish]

I've just been to the Philippines, and have been most impressed at the high level of English spoken, from humble little local stores to shops, police, and especially students.

One way Indonesia can overcome its critical lack of English teachers in Govt schools is to employ a few thousand English teachers from the Philippines and let them get stuck into it!

The Philippines is used as an English language training centre for a few Asian countries; it's certainly much cheaper than employing Western teachers, and have no doubts - their English is good.

I was teaching English 101 at an Australian university, and my top student was consistently a lady from the Philippines.