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| This is the gate at the teacher's housing. It is prison-like, dangerous and unnecessary... |
I have worked for AIDI, NIT, BIS, WACE, ASE, BIK and others for a long time. This will be an formative blog stating facts and objective opinions. It isn't a hate piece or designed as punishment, merely to inform.
I worked for this company for more than three years and I want everyone to know how they treat teachers, lie to parents and generally milk everyone for as much money as possible.
The school is situated outside Beijing. If you live on campus it can take anywhere up to two hours from the time you leave your apartment to when you arrive in Sanlitun, the nearest and main foreign hangout area in Beijing. A taxi to this destination will cost between 60RMB to 100RMB. I say 100RMB because a real taxi will usually not take you back to the school and you will have to rely on a black taxi instead.
This Google Map may be a little unfair as when you get on the bus, there is no way it takes two hours. But including the walk to the bus and the inevitable wait, it will be two hours. Remember that one finishes work at 5.30 and there is an 11pm curfew.
The school houses foreign teachers for free should they so wish. They live on campus where life is extremely restricted. Indeed, some of the teachers have taken to leaving and staying in hotels at the weekend, which costs money. The housing allowance is 1500 yuan per month. Beijing is an extremely expensive city to live in and a decent (not very good) one bedroomed apartment in a good area costs 3000-4000 yuan.
Some of the problems include:
Racism:
A number of foreign teachers have formed relationships with Chinese teachers. The school doesn't expressly forbid it but the Chinese part of the relationship will be called to a leader's office and told that the relationship is 'bad for their career'. This only appears to happen to Chinese/foreign relationships and not to inter Chinese relationships.
Teaching here...
The one's here for fun...
I don't see how much fun one could have. There is a village near the school where you can go to a restaurant and drink beer. There are no shopping malls, bars, cafes or anything Western. This is fine but most Westerners tend to want some Western foods and amenities nearby. I have already detailed the difficulty of getting to the city.
This photo is of some bottles thrown on a roof but there have been Grade Six (Aged 11-12) caught drinking in the classroom,on school trips. There are clearly bottles of whiskey in the older students dorms.
This isn't good as the older students are big and strong and if they get drunk, they will be difficult to deal with. No punishment seems to come from this.
- No visitors or guests of any kind.
- An 11pm curfew every night (regardless of vacation or weekends).
- A dress code whilst living (not working hours) on campus.
- Inspections of your apartment, photos taken.
- The food options on campus - most would consider them to be at once disgusting, overpriced, dangerous. One teacher was hospitalised.
- The supermarkets are remarkably overpriced. Up to double the price of outside supermarkets.
- Physical assault by security when arriving back past time.
- Broken manholes (one teacher fell down).
- A thief gained access to the school (no compensation given to teachers who had items stolen).
- Barbed wire fencing surrounding the teachers' housing. This despite the existence of 30 security guards.
- Construction work that goes on around the clock near teachers' housing.
Racism:
A number of foreign teachers have formed relationships with Chinese teachers. The school doesn't expressly forbid it but the Chinese part of the relationship will be called to a leader's office and told that the relationship is 'bad for their career'. This only appears to happen to Chinese/foreign relationships and not to inter Chinese relationships.
Scam...
The school is basically a scam. They are willing to spend money on buildings, not books. On security fences, not real security. On expensive fireworks, not useful teaching materials. Teachers have to fund any events out of their own pockets ie Christmas, Halloween.
The English teaching is far away of what it should be for these students. There is little desire to improve the the system. There are students in Year 12 who supposedly get really high ATARS (Australian University Test) scores. How? Difficult, one might say, when they don't study all their subjects in English until year 12. Even then, they are often thought through poor English spoken by Chinese teachers.
Parents are basically lied to at every turn. The parents are often 'fu er dai' which means they have become rich quickly and don't handle it well. Still, their kids shouldn't be swindled out of an education. This is exactly what NIT excels at.
The school is basically a scam. They are willing to spend money on buildings, not books. On security fences, not real security. On expensive fireworks, not useful teaching materials. Teachers have to fund any events out of their own pockets ie Christmas, Halloween.
The English teaching is far away of what it should be for these students. There is little desire to improve the the system. There are students in Year 12 who supposedly get really high ATARS (Australian University Test) scores. How? Difficult, one might say, when they don't study all their subjects in English until year 12. Even then, they are often thought through poor English spoken by Chinese teachers.
Parents are basically lied to at every turn. The parents are often 'fu er dai' which means they have become rich quickly and don't handle it well. Still, their kids shouldn't be swindled out of an education. This is exactly what NIT excels at.
Teaching here...
There are two types of people who come to China to teach. There are some who are serious about their work and want to improve and there are others who are not serious and want an easy life and a lot of fun.
I don't think NIT is a good place for both types.
When working in NIT, you will be a foreign face. You will not be given any leeway to teach in the style you feel to be correct. There will be lesson plans made and you are expected to deliver them exactly as you they are. You will be criticized for trying to find a new or different way to teach.
The reason...well the school employs people as interns. These are young 20ish year olds who come to China through programs such as Teach and Travel China and i-i. They have never taught before and their salary is a paltry 2650 Chinese yuan per month.
The 'leaders' as they call themselves are largely unqualified yes men/women. Some of them have acquired their positions because they are married to the right people or have relatives. For example, the primary school vice principal is a niece of the woman running the entire campus. Others have formed relationships with powerful people in government.
The students are in a nutshell, terrible. They are the very opposite of what other Chinese students are, lazy, unmotivated and a large percentage are troublemakers too. The reasons for this are two fold; they come from the richest, most entitled families in China. They are sometimes known as 'little emperors'. The other reason for this is that NIT has no interest in discipline, or keeping students in order, creating a respect towards teachers, much preferring that they remain 'happy' which means they won't complain to their parents/grandparents etc.
Of course, this leads to problems. One of the teachers had his nose broken by a student about 18 months ago. The teacher in question left. The student remains.
When working in NIT, you will be a foreign face. You will not be given any leeway to teach in the style you feel to be correct. There will be lesson plans made and you are expected to deliver them exactly as you they are. You will be criticized for trying to find a new or different way to teach.
The reason...well the school employs people as interns. These are young 20ish year olds who come to China through programs such as Teach and Travel China and i-i. They have never taught before and their salary is a paltry 2650 Chinese yuan per month.
The 'leaders' as they call themselves are largely unqualified yes men/women. Some of them have acquired their positions because they are married to the right people or have relatives. For example, the primary school vice principal is a niece of the woman running the entire campus. Others have formed relationships with powerful people in government.
The students are in a nutshell, terrible. They are the very opposite of what other Chinese students are, lazy, unmotivated and a large percentage are troublemakers too. The reasons for this are two fold; they come from the richest, most entitled families in China. They are sometimes known as 'little emperors'. The other reason for this is that NIT has no interest in discipline, or keeping students in order, creating a respect towards teachers, much preferring that they remain 'happy' which means they won't complain to their parents/grandparents etc.
Of course, this leads to problems. One of the teachers had his nose broken by a student about 18 months ago. The teacher in question left. The student remains.
The one's here for fun...
I don't see how much fun one could have. There is a village near the school where you can go to a restaurant and drink beer. There are no shopping malls, bars, cafes or anything Western. This is fine but most Westerners tend to want some Western foods and amenities nearby. I have already detailed the difficulty of getting to the city.
One for all...
Every month there is a meeting, once a month wouldn't be so bad except that is often runs for two hours. The meeting is almost exclusively in Chinese. It is largely a showcase for the 'leaders' to congratulate themselves on a well managed scam job well done. The doors of the meeting hall have been, on occasion, locked in contravention of any fire safety laws and common sense. Why are the foreign teachers in an all Chinese meeting?
The main 'leader' is a man that has clearly gotten lucky and rich, for his intellect has little to do with it. There is foreign representative of AiDi Group. He pretends to help foreign teachers. He does nothing of the sort. He dissuades complaints and, above all, discourages groups from bringing their issues collectively. He is well versed in the school's ways and has acquired their arrogance. He, in short, can't be trusted.
A teacher has been fired for not attending aforementioned meeting.
For both types of teachers, it is an extremely frustrating experience to work until 5.30. 5.30 isn't the problem, it's the staying in the office for no reason other than the 'we'll show you who is boss' attitude.
The beginning and end of semesters...
All the teachers have to work a ridiculous amount of time before the semester starts, usually running nine days in a row. This , many suspect, is nothing but a show of power, to show that you work for them, nothing more.
There have been times when teachers have not been told they are working the weekend until several days before the actual weekend in question.
Construction Work
This time may be filled in with construction work, as has happened to me twice in my time. There are no hard hats to speak of and the lack of mention on your contract of construction work matters not in their opinion.
The security gate
The new security gate, which resembles a Beijing subway or an airport security check is rumoured to be operational soon. Other rumours that the school will screen your shopping to forbid you from taking alcohol to your home.
Work time...
The work time is 8.30 to 5.30. Between that time, staff will be spoken to for not being in their offices at all times. This includes such trivial things as going for a walk, going to the overpriced supermarket and any other activity to give you a break, clear your mind etc. If you leave early, you will be docked your pay no matter if you have finished your classes or not. It matters not if you have filled in other classes for other people, done extra work, come in early orany other reason...if the school can justify taking pay from you, it will.
For both types of teachers, it is an extremely frustrating experience to work until 5.30. 5.30 isn't the problem, it's the staying in the office for no reason other than the 'we'll show you who is boss' attitude.
There is also a drinking culture among students from primary school up.
This photo is of some bottles thrown on a roof but there have been Grade Six (Aged 11-12) caught drinking in the classroom,on school trips. There are clearly bottles of whiskey in the older students dorms.
This isn't good as the older students are big and strong and if they get drunk, they will be difficult to deal with. No punishment seems to come from this.
Other, more personalised stories...
One teacher fell down a manhole which was improperly covered. She hurt her leg badly enough to see a doctor but nobody from administration helped.
The same girl was robbed whilst asleep in her home. An expensive camera was taken amongst other things. No compensation was forthcoming. Indeed, the girl was told that the robbery was her fault for leaving her window unlocked. The window doesn't lock.
Another girl was assaulted by a black taxi driver at the gate of the school. Her phone was stolen by the driver. Security looked on. The school, despite having the black taxi's number plate did nothing. Remember, real taxis don't want to travel back to school at 3am.
The school hired a girl (illegally, without her knowledge), employed her for a significant amount of time. On leaving, she was told she would get no papers. These papers are significantly important if one wishes to continue working in China.
Those that leave before their contract ends have been treated shamefully. They didn't like it and agree to pay the punitive 10,000 Chinese Yuan (1625 of our money) fine and serve their 30 days notice as the contract states. They were not given their papers, causing major issues for their new employment. Another had to fly home early because of an illness in her family. They threatened her with a fine and to tell the Chinese government she is irresponsible and shouldn't be allowed to return.
So, should you come and you don't like it....you're trapped. If you have any plans to stay in China for more than one year you will need to fulfill your contract in order to be able to change jobs/not get blacklisted.
The school...
Claims to have strong affiliations with the Western Australian government. The Western Australian government is welcoming Chinese students who don't speak English and have no manners or respect. The American universities are in on it too.
The reason...money, these students are rich and their parents can afford thousands of American Dollars which can be used to fund buildings/ fill pockets. It's largely immoral but it will continue.
But, I would suggest, don't become a part of it.
