Except you’re full of crap. I’m an accredited teacher in Ontario and this school does not meet any of the standards set out in Ministry of education guidelines. I suggest you know what you’re talking about before claiming we’re under qualified or not good at our jobs. How else do I have a job with the YRDSB right now?

Hello there,

I myself taught with both Sarah and the other teacher who posted about CICT from August 2015 until January 2016. I will just say upfront that virtually everything that's been written by the other two is sadly true.

I don't feel the need to rehash any of the information that has been discussed but I will state that Allen Lo is simply an individual that has no place in education. He is blatant liar who has a disregard for the welfare of the students at the school or their education.

What upset me the most was taking students into the school who would clearly be identified as Special Needs students with an Ontario school board. How you can morally and ethically justify accepting those students and charge them the tuition they paid is quite frankly immoral. Don't even get me started with the matter of the student who was sexually assaulted.

Other points to discuss, I left on amicable terms despite my own personal dislike for Mr. Lo methods of running the school. But I found out after that he told students I wasn't meeting the teaching standards set out by the school. So I respectfully submit the following facts in rebuttal:

1. When I was hired, I spoke with him in an in-person meeting and asked him if his school followed educational policies set out by the Ministry of Ontario (ex. Growing Success) and he had no clue what I was talking about. It should have been a red flag there, but I chalked it up to communication barriers. Oh well.

2. I've been employed by both the private and public school system in Ontario for several years. I have a position now as a full time teacher. Clearly I must lack the ability to be a good teacher and not meet teaching standards.

I'll be quite frank when I state that I left the school over the philosophical differences with the ethics permeating the workplace at CICT and my desire to be a teacher simply because I enjoy trying to do something I view as meaningful. All the students are aware of the reality of how things are conducted at the school and are justifiably upset.

Anyways, I would write a more loquacious response but there's not much more else to say at this point.

If you would like to hear or discuss more, please leave me your contact information or PM me.

Maybe it was great the year you were there, at a different location, and everything ran smoothly, but this isnt the case anymore. The purpose of this is not to 'defame' allen lo, as no one other than foreign teachers will see this, but to inform other teachers of what has happened. Didnt a teacher quit the year you taught because of administration? Thats what I was told from the students, whom you could also ask, any of them, and they would reassure you that everything which has been said here is true.

I hope you can realize before you go back that he has no interest in you whatsoever and he will be using you for your white face to make more unrealistic videos that are idealizing their inadequate form of education.

I taught there as well and I can say 100% the reason I left was the philosophical differences between myself and Mr. Lo when it came to education. If you're going to prioritize making money over the needs of the students, then quite frankly, you're in the wrong field. I'm abhorred at the lack of ethics during my time there.

I'll be writing my own review of the school shortly.

I taught at this school the year before Sarah and I just had one of my old students send me the link to this. This was almost exactly how our year went and I thought I would give my experience as well.

I was hired to teach physical education, english and social science at CICT campus in Taoyuan city (on contract) and have an "apartment style" living provided.

I arrived to the campus actually being located in Longtan Township and was put into an uncleaned dormitory room from a previous school 20 years prior to CICT. My girlfriend, who was also one of the teachers, and I were told a curriculum was going to be provided. This did not happen but instead we were given half our textbooks, no teacher editions except for English, and told to make them a curriculum. School starts a few weeks later and I was given physics/earth sciences, writing, and presentations class to teach while dropping PE. This was all done without notice, no "is this ok with you?" I think to myself "Whatever, ill help them out, its a new school, things are just getting smoothed out." This type of communication that carried on through the entire year.

We had weekly meetings where the teachers gave their concerns about the classes, school, food, and students and all the problems that were accompanied with them but never produced any results. Several times in these meetings, the staff would speak to each other in Chinese when they are very capable of English, leaving us sitting and wondering what was going on. After 2 or 3 months, these meetings eventually stopped without notice. A superintendent was supposed to be brought in to help with communication and getting things done without waiting for the chairman (allan lo) but he never showed up after one day to introduce himself to the staff. As a result a teacher quit who was fed up with all the above listed problems and more.

The big event for me was when Allan Lo handed out contracts stating we were getting tailored suits as a gift but if we quit we were to pay for them (fair enough) however if we didnt sign the contract, turning down the "gift", we would be fined. All the teachers declined and he walked out of the weekly meeting as a result and slammed the door. When I had a personal meeting with him afterwards to discuss it and everything else, he called me a stupid American for turning down a gift. The only reasoned i stayed at this school was for my students, they saw the fake-ness of the school and worried about their preparation for college.

The last thing i will say is that everything about this school is fake and done to the cheapest of qualities, yet it costs more than my university tuition.

If you interview with the school, ask why 4 out of 5 teachers left and no teachers stayed from the previous year to that. (In fact, ask the school for the emails of all the previous teachers, saying youd like to hear what they have to say) just to see their response. Im willing to bet theyd only give 2 names. Take a good look at the town in which the city is. Its beautful but no social life for a foreigner and no easy transportation unless you buy a motorbike. Feel free to email me for any specific questions and you can also go to http://forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=33960&p=1699514&hilit=cict#p1699514 to see other reviews of the school

If offered a job at this "school" please, PLEASE do not accept. If you've accepted a position please, PLEASE back out of it.

This school is operated by a con artist by the name of Allan Lo a Canadian Chinese citizen. He charges his students families millions for tuition, lies claiming they can by-bass Canadian immigration requirements, forces them to attend 'clubs' and 'tutorials' which serve no academic purpose but charges them 'club and tutorial fees', charges them for textbooks, paper (CICT pad of lined paper is nearly 100 NT), and forces them to pay for science safety equipment. Our classrooms are not modern, they do not have supplies needed to teach and when we asked for supplies, the cost was charged to the students and their families.

For the record I was an employee of this "school." I taught several different courses throughout the semester but originally was only to teach grade 10 science, grade 10 ESL (advanced), grade 11 Socials (Anthro, Socio, Psych), and grade 10 Drama. Please also note that I taught English in Canada and in China. I lived in northern China for 2 years. I am used to the Chinese way of doing things (last minute changes to schedules, the concept of 'face,' the holidays, the children, the living conditions, etc).

Scroll to the bottom for a synopsis as this is long.

I should have followed my gut. After accepting a teaching position and booking the flight there, I did not receive any correspondence for two months. The week before the flight I had sent several emails to Allan Lo and his daughter Winnie, who is also a teacher, and received no replies. The day of the flight I went to Facebook and emailed several staff members listed on Facebook and again received no reply. I did not board the flight. I will not fly into a foreign country without knowing whats on the other side.

On my way home I found many reviews for this "school" by previous teachers who taught there between 2014-2015 on Forumosa. ALL teachers from last year left this school and ALL teachers cited the same reasons I left. Con artist, poor management, toxic work environment, threats, lies, disgusting food, and so on. Example: Only the front of the school is painted and maintained. The back is gross, wet and covered in garbage.

The next day I was contacted by Allan Lo and he asked a current teacher to contact me, "P". "P" was instructed to make me feel comfortable and convince me to book another flight. "P" told me he was the teaching supervisor with several years of teaching experience. "P" informed me that previous management was fired and that new management was hired to deal with all those concerns that affected last years teachers. This new management included him and the Dean of Academics Patricia Peng. My conversation with "P" made me feel comfortable enough and so I went there.

As I should have known better as nothing what they promised was there with regards to teaching material. We were given a text book and told to write the entire curriculum schedule before the semester began. We teachers created a curriculum for all of our courses within a week. This is when I discovered there is no science class teaching materials, such as atomic models, to teach from. I was told by Winnie (who is the other science teacher) to let her know if we need anything for science. I repeatedly informed her of the lack of supplies and she simply forgot. So I improvised.

Everything seemed fine until about a month into teaching. "P" was having difficulties with the tasks assigned to him. He was the grade 11 economics instructor. The textbook for that class is university level English for grade 11 with varying levels of English comprehension. He was not supported by any staff and was obviously promised things he did not receive. For example he expected a teaching assistant, which none of us were promised, he told us he was the teacher supervisor, but we were told by Patricia he is just a teacher, the list goes on. His contract was with Allan Lo, so we assumed it was different. Eventually he got into several conflicts with the Patricia Peng over many things their relationship evolved into caty comments and threats hurled at each other in the office.

Miss Peng was hired to keep teachers and to fix the issues that occurred last year. She and I became very good friends and I respected her. She was given a position which is very difficult. It is clear Allan Lo is a very difficult man to work for or with, in addition she was balanced between the foreign staff and the Taiwanese staff, many of whom believed they should have been promoted to her position. Within a month Patricia would approach me on a regular bases to ask me questions on how to communicate with "P" because their working relationship had clearly broken down. Patricia believes that because he is American, that is were the problem is. At this time none of us saw the behind the door meetings between "P" and Patricia. From our view it was "P" who was being irrational. Patricia then asked me to take on his economics course. I agreed and courses were changed. We teach according to hours, not courses, so my drama and socials classes where taken from me and I took on Economics (7 hours a week). "P" was eventually issued several letters as per our contract informing him he is not meeting the teaching standards and before receiving his third, which is termination, he and Patricia came to an agreement to save face and he left due to medical reasons - which is in part true. During this Patricia discussed at length her want to have "P" fired with myself and the other teachers. She even asked me to review her termination letter.

I was asked to give my curriculum and handouts and assignments to the new teachers by Patricia, because neither had the time to prepare. I agreed only if I was appropriately compensated. I received bonuses for that work.

After "P" left another teacher and Councillor who has been at this "school" for a very long time was forced to take on his classes. I don't think she got what she was promised because she eventually quit. When this happened Patricia approached me again and asked if I could take back my original Socials class - now I am teaching more than the other teachers, not including prep time (we are not paid for prep time). Grade 10 ESL, Grade 10 Science, Grade 11 Economics, Grade 11 Socials. I agreed knowing the school is in a terrible position. I was promised a bonus for taking on this extra work. Pay day came, I received half. When I asked Patricia were the rest is, she snapped. In the doorway of my office wagging her finger in my face she called me disrespectful and then said she was finished with me, that I am to speak to the Chairman, Allan Lo. She told me in effect that she was no longer my direct supervisor and her following behaviour reinforced this statement.

I gave her an hour to cool off, again I am aware of her stress, and I approached her again. I asked her if we can discuss this issue, and she said "nope." So I informed her that I am putting in my two weeks now, I will not work for free. Her reply was "okay no problem." and she shrugged. I have spent the entire semester defending her to the new teachers, new to Asia. I have spent the entire semester helping her by doing extra work, providing curriculum when I didn't have to, essentially helping her push out "P" because she didn't like him and this is how she responds. So I wrote my resignation letter and emailed it to her and Allan Lo.

Allan Lo didn't read it. For two weeks Patricia and Allan Lo ignored me. It was final exam week, she made no attempt to contact me about final grades or report card comments. When I contacted her through Line (like wechat/whatsap) she told me her medical condition prevented her from contacting me. She does have a medical condition, but I saw her in the office. I saw her replying to others messages and emails, she even taught her ESL class (she was forced to take "P's" ESL class when she pushed him out). So I called her out on her lie and got passive aggressive replies which was essentially throwing shade. During these two weeks Patricia spoke about me and my resignation to other teachers and staff and lied to Allan claiming I am quitting because of personal reasons.

My last day I was asked by an administrative assistant to Patricia (very hard working, wonderful woman), to go to Patricia's office for my exit meeting. When I arrived in the office Patricia had taken the larger office which is Allan's. She had set up the desk as if it were her own. She clearly was grasping for shows of authority. I entered the large room and found myself flanked by three Taiwanese staff. She then began to speak to me in such a condescending tone it was disgusting. I asked her why she thinks she can speak to me like this and she laughed and said "I am still your boss." I was asked to sign off on return of teaching materials and so on. To sign the paper I had to move her tea cup slightly because the desk she was seated at was covered in books and papers. She shoved the cup back to the original spot. This is when I was officially finished dealing with this. She then began to yell at me and threatened me "You forget I am a journalist. Watch your back" and sauntered out of the room laughing. She refused to give me my last pay claiming she had not received my final grade or report card comments, which I sent to Allan because she was not replying to any of my messages. I simply said fine, I don't need to 2000 CAD and walked out.

The assistant and another staff member, who works closely with Allan followed me to my room where I was already packed. They found me writing a complaint to the Taiwanese labour board about the threat. Suddenly Allan had time for me. I met him in his office where he showed me how snake like he is. He said parents were calling the school asking why I was leaving. He told me that the students loved me and the parents did as well. He told me that I am one of the best and so on. I told him I know I am a good teacher. I know I do my job well. Then we got to the real issues.

He did not know I was quitting due to Patricia's mismanagement or the unpaid bonuses for extra work. He didn't read my resignation email because he thought "two women's fighting and I have no time for that." He is a misogynistic pig - during a teacher meal he asked the male teacher if his girlfriend could have a drink... yes... you read that right. I gave him my side of the story, the truth, and informed him I am here to make money. I want my money, I do not work for free. With this Allan said "I like you. You are like a man." He paid me what was owed with 1000 NT more for the upcoming Chinese New Year. He offered me another job at his other school in the south and he informed me that Patricia will be dealt with. Lies. We then went to Patricia's REAL office, not his, to address the threat which resulted in her screaming at me calling me a racist and telling me to get out of Taiwan. She said "You come to my home, my country and threaten me! LEAVE GET OUT YOU ARE RACIST YOU DO NOTHING BUY LIE!" I was so shocked I actually laughed. Allan stood there and did nothing. We left and I asked him why he stood there and did nothing. He claimed his is Chinese and in Chinese culture we do not address things directly. Which is funny because I spent two years in China and I never saw this lack of direct management before. If anything I found that owners and CEO's are very authoritative in nature. He also claimed he didn't want to address the threat, he wanted us to say good bye to each other. Another lie. He specifically told me we will deal with this threat.

I have developed the opinion that Allan Lo is a self hating racist who picks and chooses his cultural identity when it suits him. One day he claims he is Canadian and not Chinese, making fun of China. Next day he is a proud Chinese man and feels Canada has much to learn from the Chinese. He is a pig. Once he was showing prospective parents around the school, showing them where the teachers live. Two of the teachers are Chinese Canadian. He ignored them but made sure to show the parents the white male teacher. He values white males over everyone else and treats women particularly as if they are disposable. He does not value teaching staff at all. We are replaceable units for him because he is pocketing millions. The school is listed as a cram school not a real school, so I can imagine that he is evading taxes.

Now he is moving more students into the teachers dorms, something we were promised would not happen, to make more money. Teachers now have no space to recharge and no space to be themselves. Many of us have tattoos and we are not allowed to show the students tattoos. So now that students live in the same building we must always be in teacher mode and covered up accordingly. When this was brought up it was ignored.

The food there is suppose to be well balanced and nutritious. It is by far worse than prison food. Boiled vegetables and deep fried bits of chicken almost every day.

When the schedule was changed we teachers were informed by the students not Patricia. Patricia claimed she was never informed either that the Chairman just told the Taiwanese staff. A complete lack of communication to the teaching staff, because there is no respect for the teaching staff. This is particularly the case with regards to rules. For example parents are told their children would not have cells phones in the school building. They do of course. We are told we can take them. We did. Kids complained, parents complained. Suddenly kids can have cell phones in class, as long as they are on the desk in front of them. Then one day Taiwanese staff came and took them away. The kids told us the Chairman is keeping them til the end of the semester, about a month. These teenagers have 2-3 cellphones. They called home and complained. Within two days the cell phones were back in our classrooms and no one told us the new approach or how to manage them.

I am willing to deal with disorganized management, horrible food, random changes in schedules, improvising for teaching but I will not work for free or allow someone to threaten me or behave like a catty teenager towards me. I am a professional. So that was my breaking point.

The students know Allan Lo is a con artist and many have contacted me since to inform me that Allan Lo and Patricia Peng had a meeting telling the students that myself and the other teacher left because we didn't meet their basic teaching standards. They have already started their campaign to slander myself and the other teacher so they look good. Shameful.

In additional to this the school simply does not care about its students. One particular student never ate. The Councillors knew this and did not seem to think this is something worth speaking to her parents about. This student shows clear signs of an eating disorder and nothing was done about it. The school accepted a student who clearly has a learning disability who cannot speak English. He sits in class asleep because he doesn't understand a word and is clearly a slower learner. He is clever mind you, when he sits down with a teacher who speaks Mandarin and slowly goes through the lesson he gets it. One lesson takes him a few days to comprehend in Mandarin. We teachers repeatedly mentioned our concerns, and it fell on deaf ears. All of my report card comments to his parents informed him that he needs a specialized teacher. The school sees this student as another paycheck coming in. They do not care that the education he is receiving will not benefit him in any way.

Lastly I'd like to mention something of some sensitivity. Allan Lo also owns another school, Hanyin. Both schools are owned by the Hanyin Group and CICT is linked to CIC, Hamilton Ontario Canada. It is very clear that the money CICT students pay go to support the Hanyin school. The school is larger, has a gym, computer room, equipped science labs and so on. Its gorgeous compared to the private posh CICT. Hanyin school is known in Taiwan because it has a basketball team which is considered top in Taiwan. Allan Lo prides himself on his high school basketball team. There was a school dance at this other school. Our students attended as well as a select few from that school. This included the basketball team. At some point in the evening one of our female students was sexually assaulted by one of the basketball players. This actually happened. Nothing has been done. No investigation, no police contact, not even her parents have been informed. We teachers repeatedly asked for an investigation, for her parents to be contacted and informed as she is a minor and this assault occurred on campus within our care. Every time it was mentioned in meetings we were told yes an investigation is taking place but none of us believe it. Allan Lo is never on campus and when he is, is in meetings and barely speaks to us. So we had no where else to take our concerns. Taiwanese staff who speak English didn't seem to care. I believe the victim was convinced to stay quiet and not tell her parents to keep the school safe from any legal action. Patricia seems completely unaffected by this decision. A woman who clearly does not care about the minors within her care. I am very concerned about this victim as she will be soon enrolling at CIC in Hamilton Ontario Canada. I am concerned for her future safety and emotional, spiritual and physical health.

Synopsis:
- No teaching material or support
- No teaching supplies for Science or safety equipment
- Food is disgusting same boiled vegetables and fried chicken every day
- Constant changes to schedule and demands to do extra work without proper compensation
- NO COMMUNICATION because there is NO RESPECT
- Promised bonuses for extra work to make their life easier, did not receive the bonuses
- Patricia Peng is overworked and over her head in her position.
- Patricia Peng threatened me and "P" several times.
- Allan Lo is a con artist, lies to students, parents, teachers and likely the government.
- Allan Lo does not care about his school, only the numbers in his bank account.
- Allan Lo is a misogynistic pig who values white males over his own ethnicity.
- Allan Lo WILL lie to you and cheat you if he can.
- This "school" will use your passion for teaching and your caring nature towards your students to manipulate you into doing more work and trap you in a horrible toxic situation.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE.