TEACHING IN SHIJIAZHUANG, HEBEI, PRC.

I have worked in Shijiazhuang, Hebei for about a year and a half now. I know this school and all the foreigners that have worked at that school have had problems with payments(i.e. airfare and salary) and numerous contract disputes. That School is current being investigated by The State Bureau of Foreign Experts and by the PSB here in Shijiazhuang. So, stay away from Shijiazhuang I.T. college in the eastern economic development zone. This school will tell you anything to get you there and then once you sign that contract(a mear formality)your life will take a turn for the worst.

The schools and organizations that I have listed believe that the general government contract and their own addendums only applicable on your end. This is not the case my fellow teachers. Please, read the contracts carefully. I have heard many cases where the foreign teachers signed contracts that they haven't read in there entirety. The standard government contract was created to give foreign teachers rights here in China. Many schools follow the contract but many believe that you don't understand your position in relation to the school and they will prey upon your own ignorance but you have legal recourse.
The foreign teacher has the right to appeal at anytime to the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs for final arbitration.

Then we have New Times LTD. This organization brought me to China and then lied to me about having a job for me. First, they forgot to pick me up at the airport in Beijing and then they wouldn't reimburse me for the two night expense I had in Beijing. Then they got some college kid in Beijing to help me get a train ticket to Shijiazhuang where there representatives were late by three hours picking me up from the train station. This I could put up with but I was still angry. After they finally found me at the train station they told me it might be a day or two before they found me a job. I was really angry now, they told me I would have job waiting for me when I arrvied, more LIES.

They put me up in their company room with two other foreigners who were in the same position as myself. The room was a run-down cold water tenement that was infested with cockroaches. After two weeks of misery and constant flow of LIES from the mouths of the workers of this little dysfunctional inept organization. They actually found me a job at Middle School #1 here in Shijiazhuang. I signed the contract and moved in.

This school ended up being a nightmare. The FAO decided that all the foreign staff were second class citizens and were treated accordingly. We were never told any information about anything relating to school or the surrounding community. This was upsetting but it was China so I decided grin and bear it.

About half way through my first term the school decided not to follow the basic rules of the government contract in regards to accomodations(i.e. water, power and access to food) and they were violating their own addendum. So, I decided to call my friends over there at NEW TIMES LTD. to see if they could help me talk to the administration about my current situation. I thought they should because of the simple fact they were taking a percentage of my PAY every month. I assumed this was for any help we might need here in China. This was far from the case. I asked for there help and they told me a presentative was on the way over, well I'm still waiting. They had nothing but LIES for me and no assistance. So, I decided to leave that school and I found another job via the internet. I told the little cretin(Dou Songlin) that runs this criminal organization that our business is over.

NEW TIMES LTD. owes many foreign teachers the rest of their payments. Never work for the company because they will alter your working hours to satisfy there need for RMB. This happened to three of my friends at NEW TIMES LTD. and they will not pay you the full amount for your air-ticket. This recently happened to a friend of mine. NEW TIMES LTD. tried to take or withhold 2000RMB of his airfare reimbursement. The school told him they paid NEW TIMES LTD. 9000RMB for his airfare and NEW TIMES LTD. decided to pay him 7000RMB. This is a common practice at this organization. They have a well designed and constructed website but looks are DECEIVING...

BOTTOM LINE:IF YOU LIKE TAKING IT IN THE ASS THEN WORK FOR NEW TIMES LTD.

DELL ENGLISH SCHOOL here in Shijiazhuang is another school to avoid. They to, will not pay you for your actually hours either. They will also try to change the pay scale if they are running short funds. They will envite you come and interview with the school but they won't tell that you are going to a school with some other potential hires and talk in a auditorium for two hours and not get paid for it. They will LIE and tell you it will only take 20 minutes. Then they will take your picture along with the other foreigners and use that in there advertisements. This is now illegal for schools in China to do this without your permission and you must be compensated for the use of your photograph in a advertisement.
Then after using your picture without permission they will hire Africans that can bearly mumble a word of English because they are cheaper.
WELCOME TO SHIJIAZHUANG!!!!

Summation.

SCHOOLS AND ORGANIZATIONS NOT TO WORK FOR IN SHIJIAZHUANG.

1)NEW TIMES LTD.
2)MIDDLE SCHOOL NUMBER ONE
3)SHIJIAZHUANG I.T. COLLEGE
4)DELL ENGLISH SCHOOL