Job Discussion Forums

Halapo · Joined: 05 Sep 2009 Posts: 140 Location: Jiangsu, China

My school was in the process of re-applying me for my Expert Certificate. We had no problems last year, I went from no visa to Z visa, resident permit and expert certificate in under 2 weeks ( about 9 days total I think ).

This year we had one issue about the fact that my resume only listed 1 year of teaching experience ( I had not updated it from the last year, so it was no big deal to update it ).

I thought it was odd that they gave me one last year without 2 years. So I am not sure if it is a new rule, or they are enforcing an old one. I guess they are getting tired of newbies running away or not knowing how to teach.

Bendex · Joined: 04 Sep 2009 Posts: 18 Location: China

Halapo wrote:
I guess they are getting tired of newbies running away or not knowing how to teach.

Given that Jiangsu province is about the only one left that will still 'replace' an L visa with a Z visa within China for a budding FT, (please correct me if I'm wrong), I'm not surprised there are so many newbies employed there, of which some will do a runner, while others will teach ineffectively for the duration of their two-semester contracts.

However, teaching experience in China is no guarantee of teaching prowess - in my time here, I have come across at least two FT's who couldn't teach their way out of a paper bag, yet they've been teaching here for more than a few years!

The Ever-changing Cleric · Joined: 19 Feb 2009 Posts: 1523

kev7161 · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 5880 Location: Suzhou, China

chinatwin88 · Joined: 31 Aug 2009 Posts: 379 Location: Peking

chengdude · Joined: 13 Jun 2004 Posts: 294

Procedures changed in Jiangsu as of August 2009. The provincial Foreign Affairs Office has taken over the issuing of all Foreign Experts Certificates. Previously, the PSB handled teachers and the provincial FAO handled the folks who live in single-family estates with a) kids in international schools or, b) a Chinese girlfriend to complement the wife back home. The PSB still handles visas, so it's been a headache for school FAOs, especially since deadlines for applying have been tightened and the provincial FAO only accepts applications certain days/times of the week. The problems are bigger when coordinating visas/FECs for prospective teachers (and scholars/students) outside China. It's a whole new world of guanxi for the school FAOs.

There's a new brochure published by the provincial FAO detailing the requirements for every scenario: what to do if you're coming to China for the first time, changing schools in different provinces, extending or reissuing an FEC within Jiangsu, etc. Teachers who slipped by before the August changeover might encounter some extra hoops to jump through in order to issue/extend their FEC next year.