ACCORDING to a recent inspection, some of language training institutes in Bijiang District in Hangzhou, were found to have provided language courses taught by so-called foreign teachers who lacked the relevant certificates required by the authorities, the Zhejiang Online reported.

The inspection was conducted by the district’s education bureau.

The hiring of illegal foreign language teachers is rampant, the report said.

In order to have a higher enrollment rate, some institutes have employed foreign students temporarily studying in China or foreigners from non-native English-speaking countries in lieu of qualified teachers, according to the Zhejiang Online.

“In accordance with related rules and regulations, foreign language teachers can only work legally with the Foreigner’s Work Permit that includes a QR code through which the foreigner’s working position can be checked,” said a staff member surnamed Wang who works for the education bureau.

Wang also suggested that parents ask the institutes to show their teachers’ qualifications before signing up their children for courses.

To meet the requirements of the Chinese Government, foreigners who intend to work as a qualified language teacher in China should, in principle, teach their native language and have at least a bachelor’s degree and more than two years of work experience in the education industry.

Two years of experience is not required for graduates with majors in either their native language or education, or another form of internationally recognized teaching certification, such as TEFL, TESOL and TESL. 

(Zhou Ting)