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Public School holding onto my friend's Diploma
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pkang0202



Joined: 09 Mar 2007
PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 6:42 pm    Post subject: Public School holding onto my friend's Diploma Reply with quote
My friend works at an Elementary school for GEPIK. She's getting stressed out because her principal won't give her back her diploma. He says he wants it to keep her from leaving or finding another job. She's on an E2.

She's asked for it back many times and they've refused. What can she do?
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Pak Yu Man



Joined: 02 Jun 2005
Location: The Ida galaxy
PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 6:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
She can say "give me my diploma or I'm leaving".
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pkang0202



Joined: 09 Mar 2007
PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 6:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
That won't work because the school knows that she won't leave without her diploma.

She really wants THAT one. I told her she should just get a replacement and she said no. She wants hers because it has a lot of sentimental value.
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wylies99



Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 6:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
She CAN call the police. It's her property.
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Alyallen



Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Location: The 4th Greatest Place on Earth = Jeonju!!!
PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 7:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Tell her to call up GEPIK. There must be someone there who will set this boss straight. What an asshole....
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mj roach



Joined: 16 Mar 2003
PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 7:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
If everything else is okay and your friend is happy enough with her situation, she doesn't need to be confrontational with the principal.

She should 'invent' a plausible reason for needing the diploma...eg. ' to send it to the Korean Embassy for certification and/or certified copies'... then just keep it.
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icicle



Joined: 09 Feb 2007
Location: Gyeonggi do Korea
PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 7:19 pm    Post subject: Re: Public School holding onto my friend's Diploma Reply with quote
pkang0202 wrote:
My friend works at an Elementary school for GEPIK. She's getting stressed out because her principal won't give her back her diploma. He says he wants it to keep her from leaving or finding another job. She's on an E2.

She's asked for it back many times and they've refused. What can she do?


That is a different reason from the one I was initially given when I asked for mine back from my school. They said they needed to keep them in case they were audited. I said that I would be very happy to bring them in anytime they asked but I was concerned about keeping them in good condition because of the amount of money it would cost me to replace them if they were lost or damaged - It would have cost me around $200 australian dollars to replace them. They took a copy and gave me back the originals.

I guess the first thing I would do is to ask whether or not she is otherwise happy at the school ... because some of the options that she has could put her in a difficult position ...

One possibility is to simply tell him that keeping the diploma will not stop her from leaving the school because she can simply request a copy from her college or university. It would actually not in itself stop her from finding another job ... The thing that would do that if she left early would be the school refusing to give her a letter of release ... which would mean she was stuck until after her current visa expires.

Another is for her to tell them that she normally keeps the diploma framed on her wall - so she can look at it and keep it protected. She was told she would get it back when she arrived in Korea. She wants it back to put back into the frame.

Another option would be to talk to GEPIK and get them to talk to the school. OR ask the school to do that ...

Or tell the principal that you had heard that some Hagwon's tried to rip off / do the wrong thing by some English teachers and one of the warning signs you had been told to look out for was them refusing to give back the diploma ... You are prepared to go and get legal advice ... or go to the police if they refuse to give you back what legally belongs to you ...

I guess the bottom line really is refusing to take no for an answer on this ...

Icicle
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CentralCali



Joined: 17 May 2007
PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 8:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The principal isn't supposed to have it in the first place! One School Inspector at the Office of Education is supposed to verify the document along with all the other documents submitted by the new intake of teachers in the program. Upon completion of verification, the school inspector sends it to the school, clearly addressed to the teacher, NOT the principal.

The various EPIK programs are government programs and as such have particular rules on how they are administered. Holding a foreign teacher's diploma hostage is not one of those administrative rules.
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icicle



Joined: 09 Feb 2007
Location: Gyeonggi do Korea
PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
CentralCali wrote:
The principal isn't supposed to have it in the first place! One School Inspector at the Office of Education is supposed to verify the document along with all the other documents submitted by the new intake of teachers in the program. Upon completion of verification, the school inspector sends it to the school, clearly addressed to the teacher, NOT the principal.

The various EPIK programs are government programs and as such have particular rules on how they are administered. Holding a foreign teacher's diploma hostage is not one of those administrative rules.


I got my Gyeonggi job through a recruiter directly with the school. I sent my diploma's to the recruiter who passed them on to the school. So after they came back from immigration the school had them. They were just another piece of the paper work. So I don't find it hard to understand how the school got the documents.

But I do agree that holding the diploma "hostage" is not one of the rules the schools must follow ....

Icicle
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Bibbitybop



Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Location: Seoul
PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Notarized copies of degrees: Get 'em, use 'em, avoid this Korean crap.
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tiger fancini



Joined: 21 Mar 2006
Location: Testicles for Eyes
PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:23 pm    Post subject: Re: Public School holding onto my friend's Diploma Reply with quote
icicle wrote:
I was concerned about keeping them in good condition because of the amount of money it would cost me to replace them if they were lost or damaged - It would have cost me around $200 australian dollars to replace them.


Mine was returned to me during the last month of my contract. It had been hole-punched and was dog-eared. I was not happy to say the least.
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