Beijing's underage and under-qualified teachers may soon have more to worry about than grading their students' homework. The city’s municipal government has tightened requirements for foreigners working in the capital, with particularly stringent new measures for teachers, according to the People's Daily.
Beginning October 31, foreign English teachers must have five years of relevant teaching experience, no criminal record and the name of their employer specified on their work documents. The new rules stipulate they must also possess a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate, most of which require a month's professional training.
The lazy days of Beijing's "white guy in a tie" appear to be coming a close. Schools may actually have to hire teachers based on their qualifications alone-- not, in some cases, just by their skin color or nationality, according to Eric Winder, CEO of beijingteach.com.
"But this is still China and as much as things are changing, have changed and will continue to change, the simple fact is that this country runs on guanxi," he said. "There's only an ever-increasing demand for English teachers, while regulators will be hard-pressed to stop what actually happens on the ground."
Such actions includes a number of infamous cases involving a minority of foreign teachers in China, including pedophilia and sexual assaults. Last year, That's Beijing helped break the story of Neil Robinson, a teacher working in Beijing who was wanted by police in his native UK for a string of sex offense charges. He was extradited and jailed for 12 years in January this year.
In the months that followed, the government issued tougher visa laws making criminal background checks mandatory. Arrest and deportation rates have nearly doubled since 2012. With English teaching in China particularly popular among recent graduates and hardened reprobates alike, the need for five years' relevant teaching experience looks set to diminish the field of suitable candidates.
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