Just for the record, I'm not a fan of TCs, but I can appreciate why some FTs choose to work for them!

Well, they would work you to death, which won't fit you anyway. You said earlier that you were lazy and wanted to have an easy job. It's your good right to take such jobs that fit your personal requirements.

Now, I'm even lazier; I'm retired. However, I still check out the ESLTB forums!

However, the world of decent schools is somewhat different: they do not only have to meet the requirements of their accreditation body or those government bodies overseeing them; they also have to follow decent standard academic procedures that no training centre would ever follow as they soon would go bankrupt according to the business model they have.

I have taught at 'decent schools' both as a direct-hire independent FT and on behalf of agents. My definition of decent schools in China would be public schools/colleges/universities. However, it wouldn't include those public education providers that are in partnership with private schools, such partnerships having been instigated to dupe students and FTs who are unaware that the private party is using the public school's good name to do so! Effectively, those parnerships operate as private schools if you are employed by the private party imo.

Jobs at Chinese training centres are for cowboy teachers or deechers that are after the money in the first place without any reflection on the qualityof their workand who often are not duly qualified. If there are some reasons why you can appreciate that some FTs work for them, and if money is one of the reasons, then good luck to them - they often are not paid what they were promised.

I'd say Chinese training centres' principal priority is to make as much money as possible whatever way they can. Such ways will include cheating their students and their FTs too. However, any FTs they employ who are making them money will be treated well. In contrast, those FTs who aren't will be treated very badly and booted out the door unceremoniously and cheated out of air fare allowances!

Training centres are a systemic failure per se because of the business model they all follow, and those folks working for them mostly are too.

You can add private schools that are independent and those affiliated to public education providers to what you say re TCs; however, thy are not so bad, but nevertheless bad enough!

I propose a red flag warning system for schools in China:

1 - TCs, 5 red flags; most of them are shit!

2 - Private education providers that are independent and those private education providers that are affiliated to public education providers, 3 flags; many of them are shit.

3- Public education providers, 1 flag; some of them are shit.

I think telling everyone that all TCs are shit is not the best way.

Re EF Dalian, 'mrpenguin', a silly handle, but a plausible post! If he chooses not to respond, we can be quite certain he's a TC shill!