Site Search:
 
Get TEFL Certified & Start Your Adventure Today!
Teach English Abroad and Get Paid to see the World!
Job Discussion Forums Forum Index Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

The JIS Debacle and Criminal Record Checks
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Indonesia
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Tudor



Joined: 21 Aug 2009
Posts: 339

PostPosted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I cannot understand why any teacher would even consider working at JIS these days; perhaps some people are much braver than I am.


Nor can I. I'm amazed any of the deported teachers came back - unless I had commitments here, I'd have considered it a dodged bullet. What's more, I'd be wary of teaching kids full-stop - who knows where a false accusation could land you.

What with the JIS carry-on, difficulties getting kitases, the weak rupiah and political instability, Indonesia looks a less and less attractive proposition for teachers. If I didn't have commitments here myself, I'd definitely call it a day...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
bradleycooper



Joined: 12 Apr 2013
Posts: 310

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 6:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tudor wrote:
Quote:
I cannot understand why any teacher would even consider working at JIS these days; perhaps some people are much braver than I am.


Nor can I. I'm amazed any of the deported teachers came back - unless I had commitments here, I'd have considered it a dodged bullet. What's more, I'd be wary of teaching kids full-stop - who knows where a false accusation could land you.


Tudor raises an important issue here- the potential risk of "teaching kids full-stop." Though the anti-foreigner hysteria has somewhat cooled down in the local press, there are still some ignorant people making the Westerner= sex criminal equation. If the mother in the JIS case gets a massive pay-out, the temptation to make spurious/fictional allegations will only increase. There is already a second JIS mother who is claiming victimhood for her child, even though the medical tests from Singapore showed he hadn't been interfered with.

That leads to the question of how teachers can reduce the risk of being a victim of false allegations. I would suggest there are some steps schools should be looking at:

1. Separate toilet facilities for staff and students. No exceptions. Many language mills have staff and students using the same toilets. This is a recipe for disaster.

2. Schools should consider having cameras in classrooms. Many teachers are very "anti-camera", but overall it could be protection for teachers against false allegations.

3. Teacher assistants should be present in the class with foreign teachers who are with children under the age of 10 or so. Then there is a witness who can defend the teacher against baseless claims. This policy is already in place in some schools in Thailand and Cambodia.

4. Glass walls are an option some schools have considered.

Whether these changes would offer effective protection is doubtful in a JIS type situation. In the JIS case the dates and places of the alleged assaults have changed at times, making a mockery of the whole process. When bizarre scenarios are being treated as credible, perhaps no precautions will be good enough.

Nevertheless, schools/language mills really need to start making major changes in order to protect both students and teachers. This isn't an issue that can be left to chance. Schools that are not taking measures to deal with this issue are probably not somewhere you want to work.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Tudor



Joined: 21 Aug 2009
Posts: 339

PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 3:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's not just language mills with shared toilet facilities; the Penabur school in Kalapa Gading also has them and I'm sure there are others - a friend worked there and said he felt very uncomfortable taking a leak with the kids running in and out gawping and yelling at him not to mention the fact that kids' aim doesn't tend to be that great so the floor was always wet through. Wrong on every level.

Having said that, they do at least have cameras in their classrooms. Of course, nobody likes 'big brother' but it has to be better than the alternative.

Ultimately, I think we all know that the majority of schools and mills in Indonesia would happily throw their teachers under the bus if any accusations were made - they'd quickly wash their hands of it so whilst your suggestions are admirable Bradley, I won't hold my breath for any changes. It's credit to JIS the way they have backed their teachers but then I guess that's the difference between being a fully-qualified teacher working for a proper international school and being a TEFL-er working at a mill or some wannabe-international school.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
bradleycooper



Joined: 12 Apr 2013
Posts: 310

PostPosted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 4:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

An intersting report in the Jakarta Post today which helps put the JIS case in context. According to the report there have been an incredible 21 million cases of child sexual or physical abuse reported to The National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) since 2010. That's over 5 million reports a year. Yet most of these are not even investigated. This is part of what they said:

The reality of this emergency situation is supported by constant reports of child abuse. Around 42 to 58 percent of the cases include sexual abuse, physical abuse, kidnapping, economic exploitation and trafficking,” Arist said on Thursday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

So there are 5 million cases a year of this and yet all the local media attention is on a single case at JIS (an international school), which is based on weak and contradictory evidence. Hard not to see this as an obvious case of scapegoating.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
princesss



Joined: 28 Mar 2007
Posts: 152
Location: japan/indo/aust

PostPosted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 1:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Apart from all the bru-ha-ha in the newspapers, what has actually changed? None of the job ads are asking for criminal record checks. This whole mess started 6 months ago. Has Indonesia still not got around to issuing new regulations? Any word if they actually intend to do something about screening out potential sex offenders?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Tudor



Joined: 21 Aug 2009
Posts: 339

PostPosted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 3:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

princesss wrote:
Apart from all the bru-ha-ha in the newspapers, what has actually changed? None of the job ads are asking for criminal record checks. This whole mess started 6 months ago. Has Indonesia still not got around to issuing new regulations? Any word if they actually intend to do something about screening out potential sex offenders?


I heard that new regulations are going to be announced / come into force in December. I believe the British International School has changed it's name to the British Jakarta School and I've also heard that the Jakarta International Korean School is aligning itself with its embassy though I don't know whether that's pertinent to anything that's been going on. Also, I read something about there possibly being quotas on Indonesian students at international schools and changes to curriculums to accommodate these students.

I haven't heard anything about criminal record checks, but there is supposedly a new regulation that teachers have to have a medical in their home countries (or another country where they're currently working or residing) in order to get a kitas. There's also rumours that a certain level of proficiency in Indonesian is going to be another requirement (but not for a first year kitas) and it would appear that the over-55s and under- 25s are now having more difficulties getting a kitas. Finally (!) it also seems that teachers are required to have 5 years teaching experience. Apparently, some of these are existing regulations that have never been enforced but it seems they are starting to do so now.

Please note that this is all hearsay I'm sharing with you so if it turns out to be complete BS then don't shoot the messenger!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
princesss



Joined: 28 Mar 2007
Posts: 152
Location: japan/indo/aust

PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 4:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There's also rumours that a certain level of proficiency in Indonesian is going to be another requirement (but not for a first year kitas) and it would appear that the over-55s and under- 25s are now having more difficulties getting a kitas. Finally (!) it also seems that teachers are required to have 5 years teaching experience. Apparently, some of these are existing regulations that have never been enforced but it seems they are starting to do so now.

A certain degree of proficiency in Indonesian will be required. Considering how many people manage to stay 5 years in the country without being able to count to 10 in Indonesian, that won't be popular. Perhaps just another rule to use as leverage when extracting bribes? As for the under 25 rule, I recall a couple of Dave's users on here complaining that they were rejected on those grounds in the past. But also I know people as young as 22 who got Kitases.

5 years teaching experience is a ludicrously high barrier too. Just encourages fake CVs and references, which favours dishonest applicants.


Last edited by princesss on Thu Oct 30, 2014 3:32 am; edited 3 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Tazz



Joined: 26 Sep 2013
Posts: 512
Location: Jakarta

PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 6:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If, and it's an unlikely conditional here, these regulations TRULY come into play across the board, it would spell the end of EF as we know it. After all, what older and experienced native speaker with qualifications would ever accept sub-standard shared housing + less than ten mil a month?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Tudor



Joined: 21 Aug 2009
Posts: 339

PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 9:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tazz wrote:
If, and it's an unlikely conditional here, these regulations TRULY come into play across the board, it would spell the end of EF as we know it. After all, what older and experienced native speaker with qualifications would ever accept sub-standard shared housing + less than ten mil a month?


I think it would spell the end of EFL as salaries outside of EF aren't much to write home about either. The better paying language schools (Wall St, TBI, Direct, EF Adult Centres) as well as some schools, such as the Penabur Nat+ ones, start at 15million a month. As of today that's GBP 765 / USD 1230. 18 months ago these salaries would have been in the region of GBP 1000 / USD 1550.

Princess thinks that all these regulations will attract more dishonest applicants but, to be perfectly honest, I can't see many teachers - qualified or otherwise - jumping (or faking) through all the necessary hoops for such crap pay. And for what? The dubious privilege of living in Jakarta? Because let's not forget that outside the capital, salaries are generally lower.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
princesss



Joined: 28 Mar 2007
Posts: 152
Location: japan/indo/aust

PostPosted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 3:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There was one user on here a while ago who had spoken to a visa agent in Singapore. The agent reported that, compared with years past, there was only the barest trickle of work visas for Indonesia being issued, and most prospective employees collect their visa in Singapore. So there is every reason to believe that the number of teachers already started drying up 2 or 3 years ago.

Also, the visa agent said there is a fair amount of abuse of Sosbud visas, which are for cultural/social purposes and you absolutely can't work on them legally.

I have one friend in Jakarta who doesn't have a degree who has managed to find employment, but he went 4 months without work at one point. He was turned down by 15 different schools and many of them said it just isn't worth the trouble to try and employ foreigners in the current climate. All of this leads me to the conclusion that Indonesia is already a much less popular destination for teachers than in years past.

n the topic of regulations, I think that Tudor is right. The more hoops there are to jump through, the more people who decide it just isn't worth it. And I doubt the loss of Native Speaker teachers will improve the quality of schools, frankly.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
bradleycooper



Joined: 12 Apr 2013
Posts: 310

PostPosted: Fri Oct 31, 2014 5:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The dossiers of the JIS teachers have now been handed over and prosecutions are on the way. The alleged offenders had been in custody for 3 months without offical charges being pressed. Implausibly, there are now 7 different people going to trial for raping this single child.

Medical evidence from the "cleaners" trial has shown that there was no evidence of rape when the alleged victim was examined. The entire case is resting on 3 therapy sessions with a therapist called Seto. In these sessions the child mentioned not only sexual assault but magic stones being conjured out of the air and hidden dungeons under the school. The case should be thrown out on such weak and even fantastic evidence, but I fear a miscarriage of justice is coming- followed by a $125 million squeeze on JIS by tort lawyers.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
bradleycooper



Joined: 12 Apr 2013
Posts: 310

PostPosted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 7:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

An expert has now testified that the boy at the centre of these case probably doesn't even have herpes at all! The test he was given was known to be "incredibly inaccurate" and is no proof that he had the virus causing herpes.

This knocks down the remaining plank of the case against the cleaners. Previously it had been presumed that someone had assaulted the boy, even if the cleaners themselves were not responsible, as he had a virus. Now, we find out that not even the STD is necessarily real. Add this to the fact that 16 different medical teams have now determined that there is no evidence of rape based on their examination and the claim that he was assaulted by 5 cleaners at once seems preposterous. This witch-hunt against international schools and teachers needs to end. In a proper legal system, it would have been thrown out of court long ago.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/11/20/jis-victim-does-not-have-herpes-says-microbiologist.html
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
bradleycooper



Joined: 12 Apr 2013
Posts: 310

PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 8:06 am    Post subject: It Now Happened in the Kitchen! Reply with quote

The macabre joke that is the JIS saga drags on. The teachers are now finally on trail, after having been held in detention for 3 months. They are both facing 15 years in prison.

Worryingly, the location of the alleged crimes has now been changed. Earlier, teachers pointed out that it was preposterous to allege that the crimes had happened in the rooms in the school lobby, as these were in full view and had glass walls as of early 2013. Now, suddenly, the crimes are said to have taken place in the school kitchen as well as a small room on the 2nd floor.

I notice that an expert from Australia with 36 years experience commented that he did not believe (based on the information) that an assault had occured. This is a man who had devoted years of his life to fighting child sex abuse, so he is hardly someone to dismiss lightly.

The latest Wall Street Journal article also highlights how the details of the testimony keep changing. But no matter how inconsistent the story seems to be, the prosecution keeps being allowed to make changes to their narrative. In the latest version, for example, the "magic blue stone" which appeared out of mid air may now have been inserted into the victim. The WSJ writes:

The indictment against Mr. Bantleman, seen by The Wall Street Journal, charges that he inserted a “magic stone” in one alleged victim, then 5, to dull his pain, but doesn’t say what the “magic stone” is or where it came from. The indictment says the attacks occurred in restrooms, a kitchen and a windowless room whose location hasn’t been identified, but makes no mention of two venues cited in police documents: Mr. Bantleman’s glass-walled office and a supposedly secret underground room.

Anyway, most people feel that a conviction is going to happen and the case is little more than a show trial. The real issue is the $125 milioon shake-down of the civil suit.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/12/02/jis-teachers-first-trial-starts-tuesday-south-jakarta-court.html
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
plumpy nut



Joined: 12 Mar 2011
Posts: 1652

PostPosted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 4:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Colonialism was wrong?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Tazz



Joined: 26 Sep 2013
Posts: 512
Location: Jakarta

PostPosted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 6:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If this ludicrous crap ends in a conviction for any of the bule teachers-I suggest everybody western who is teaching there just quits. Plenty of sane places to teach!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Indonesia All times are GMT
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10  Next
Page 5 of 10

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group

Teaching Jobs in China
Teaching Jobs in China