Job Discussion Forums

[rmarqua2921]

I have now lived in CD Guzman, Jalisco, Mexico, for about 1.5 years. I am a retired attorney from the USA, but teach English on a free lance basis here in Mexico. I came here to invest in a English Institute. I along with others have been swindled out of large amounts of money by Ignacio Magano Gonzalez, the purported owner of ICTC. So beware if you have any dealings with him or Juan Molina Fett. These are two men you should watch for if you have any dealings with a school in Mexico. Remember in Mexico you can really say anything you want in advertisement even if it is not true. Mr Magano claims to have all kinds of certification for the school, but has really none, none from Mexico and none internationally. He is not recognized by the British Council and has no connection whatsoever with Cambridge.

[reddevil79]

I am the Assistant Director at the aforementioned institution and feel I have to contest the previous post. I have been in education for five years and long term users of the forum may recognise me.

We are a small, successful school with wonderful, highly motivated staff from Mexico, North America and Europe. Our success has been built on the back of our hard work; it would be hard to find a workforce more dedicated to education. We have been accredited by S.E.P. (Public Education Department), the British Council and are in the process of acquiring other accreditations. We are a thoroughly professional outfit and we care very deeply for our school, our students and our town. Any visitors to the school would undoubtedly reach the same conclusion.

Here is our website:

http://www.efl-ictc.com/

rmarqua2921, whatever your dispute or the nature of your personal problems, it is irresponsible and grossly unfair to attack our school like this. It is pathetic and pretty sad.

We have said our piece and will not be drawn into a slanging match.

[Samantha]

Is this thread for real? First of all, credentials and licensing are verifiable, so they either exist or they don't. Also, there IS consumer protection available in Mexico in the form of PROFECO. Not only that, there are courts to settle battles in Mexico just like everywhere else.

It just isn't so that you can make false advertising claims in Mexico and get away with it. Both poster number one and also the piece on jobs on the website poster number two provided makes that same comment. Odd, and not fact.

[MO39]

I too wonder what's going on here. Out of curiosity, I checked out the OP and saw that he had listed the website of the school under discussion in his profile (?). Is there any way to find out if the ICTC really has been accredited by the SEP (as mentioned on its website) and the British Council?

[PlayadelSoul]

Their website claims that they were just certified by SEP. That is easy to check, if one were so inclined. Just call SEP in that city.

They also claim to be staffed with all native speakers. That, I don't believe. Unless they have a nice cushy deal with Migracion, it would be hard to do what they claim. There are many Mexicans who speak English and want to teach, as well.

[Samantha]

That's interesting and odd. It seems the calendar part of the website has JUST been changed to say they were certified today, Saturday, February 4th, 2006. It didn't show this information earlier when he first posted the link. It referenced some gathering in 2004 in the spot where it now announces SEP accreditation.

Buried in the website it still shows this:

[rmarqua2921]

Pesonally, I have checked with the British Council and Cambridge, they have no such certification. I still in fact legally own 50% of that company. By law the company is dissolved, but Mr. Magano has stolen all the assets of the company and the fate of the school is in the courts. This too is easy to document, if you are interested send me an e-mail and I will send you a copy of the lawsuit.

When we contacted SEP to see if ICTC was certified we were informed that SEP does not certify English named schools anyway. This is a lie and a farce.

Ask the Mexican Teachers who were trained and promised SEP certification, they never got it.

[Samantha]

SEP certifies schools based on program criteria..... In my area, there are several English named schools certified so that isn't an issue. They misinformed you there.

A training school for teachers, such as this one you are concerned with would have to meet a different standard to be certified, which likely would be a little more difficult to achieve than the regular ESL school SEP certification. I am sorry you find yourself in this situation, since the wheels of justice turn very slowly in Mexico and things can go sideways for foreigners quickly if too much blind trust was involved.

[rmarqua2921]

Thanks, actually the courts are processing this faster than I though they would...if you saw this school and its facilities you know that SEP would not certify such a school.

I did contact British Council and this was there response:

Subject: RE: [Maybe Spam] RE: Cambridge Certification
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 08:20:50 -0500
From: "Rebollo, Adriana (Mexico)" <[email protected]> Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
To: "Robert Marquardt" <[email protected]>

Dear Robert,
We do not recognise any school.

Best wished.

Adriana Rebollo Philippe

Mr. Fett to my knowledge doesn't even have a Bachelors Degree from any University. He was fired from his last job in GDL because he claimed to have a Master's Degree and when the company found he didn't he was fired. If they have SEP certification why don't they give the Mexican teacher trainees the certificate of certification. They have not recieved it because ICTC does not have SEP certification. The last time we called SEP, they had no certification in Jalisco.

[vanquishwatonka]

I can't really offer any help on whether it is accredited or not, but I worked there for 6 months and I KNOW it's a great school!!!!!!Recommended!!!!

[jfurgers]

[MO39]

[Guy Courchesne]

[ontoit]

It's late in the thread, but I wonder why a retired lawyer wouldn't be inclined to check the facts prior to investing rather than after.