Korean Job Discussion Forums

[iiicalypso]

Earlier this week the owner of my school called each of the teachers into the office and gave us a five minute mini lecture on the cruel government assault on private academies. He talked about how the government was forcing them to lower tuition by 20 percent, and I sat there wondering why I was supposed to care. Later in the day a secretary went around to all the teachers desks and confiscated all of the old attendance lists from the folders. She said that the school was going back through the files and apparently adding 20 percent more phantom students to the lists to justify the school's income.

Now, not that I care about my school anywhere beyond my paycheck, but I was wondering if this is happening elsewhere. Anyone?

[eamo]

Yes. A hagwon I worked at 2 years ago did exactly what you describe.

I think 'creative accounting' is the norm here. And most other countries.

[just because]

Happened at my last hagwon.

They got a tip off that the tax man was coming.

I've never seen the wonjang work so hard in all the time I was there. They were adjusting everything, not sure what happened when the tax man came though.

[turtlepi1]

hmmm...likely fraud but perhaps too harsh a word.

Schools need a certain number of students to justify their foreign teachers and perhaps revenue amounts.

In Canada it is similar...the way the school pulls revenue and the way that the government requires you to report it don't always match. The guidelines however for legally counting "active" students doesn't always match what logic would indicate is an active student.

If you explain this mismatch to the bureaucrats you will get screwed but if you alter your numbers to match their formulas then all is well.

Pencil pushers don't want explanations they want things to work.

Having said that with the hard-on hate for hagwon bosses I'm sure people will say I'm nuts...

[Sage Monkey]