There's no doubt that the efforts of the Chinese government to perhaps 'clean-up' the ESL industry in China are well-meaning, but how practical are they?

I'll get no arguments from people like Amused and Turnoi when I say that FT's should be suitably qualified, but how much damage are these new rules causing?

FT's in China now have to get their degree notarised / authenticated. It comes at a cost of anything up to $1000. Of course, one cannot blame FT's for refusing to pay such an amount, only to earn that kind of money per month whilst working in China, so I guess many FT's are seeking employment elsewhere.

When I return to my school in September, we will be 2 FT's short. We were short last semester and the one before that. It means that 3 FT's are required to cover the classes of 5 FT's. OK, so we get paid extra, but that's not the point. Extra classes means extra work, extra preparation, more lessons to plan for, etc etc etc.

A mate of mine was teaching in another province last semester and he had been at the same school for about 4 years. The school asked him to sign a new contract, so he agreed to do so if they increased his salary from 12000 to 12500. They refused.

So he then agreed to go to work for another school for 12700 per month.

At the beginning of August his old school were begging him to return. They offered him 14K per month and even said they would pay him for the month of August if he signed right now!

Like my boss, these people think that FT's are easy to come by. They may have been easy to come by a while ago, and although they cannot challenge the government's new ruling, they are obviously oblivious to the effect it is already having.

Incidentally, I saw a job posting that not only required the degree to be notarised, but also the TESOL diploma. I bet that school is fighting-off applications, lol.

I wonder how many FT's have left China during the summer hols and won't be returning? It would be interesting to find out.