Do the bushibans have any clue?

Work Teaching English in Taiwan
1

Dear all forumosans,
I am currently in a very confused state during job application(for my bf). Well, according to the official taiwanese ministry of education website, it is stated that a foreigner holding UK passport can work in taiwan LEGALLY with

  1. bachelor degree OR
  2. Junior College graduate with a teaching certificate(i.e TESOL).

Well, the bf has a UK university HND(a bit similiar to the associate’s degree in american but higher), and he has a TESOL.

I have emailed HESS(I know, I know about hess but it is the only big one that I have heard), along with several other bushibans, the reply I got from hess is that the government states that he cannot teach without a bachelor degree…

So the official website overturned their statement straight away…because he CAN teach with his HND and TESOL.

Do the bushibans have ANY clue what they are talking about?? I am really frustrated at the moment…help…some REAL answers please.

I don’t know if they are playing me around like a tennis ball or what… :help:

By the way…is there any forumosan here that has a bushiban themselves, and acutally know the actual procedures for applying ARC for foreign teachers? And…don’t mind me being cheeky, any positions available in early August for the bf in the taipei area??

He will be arriving in taiwan with a visitor’s visa in july, therefore will be able to conduct a face to face interview with anyone who is interested in hiring him.

By the way, in my personal opinion, he is a very patient teacher and very good with the kids. Well, I am a good example of his students since I wasn’t that good expressing myself before I met him. (He doesn’t have any actual classroom experience though)

Thanks a lot for all the feedback…thank you, thank you

regards
camille

2

Here is what I got directly from the Hess website:

"3. Minimum Education Requirements

Teachers must meet one of the following standards to meet the Taiwanese Bureau of Education’s minimum educational requirement:

A) Bachelor’s degree in any discipline OR

B) Associate’s degree with a TEFL / TESOL Certificate. The Bureau of Education does not recognize any other form of certification including diplomas, unless you can prove from your school that what you have studied is the equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree."

You might have gotten some yahoo answering the phone. Did you make sure you were talking to someone in charge?

3

yeah i email to the human resource department in HESS.
The woman who replied to me is called natasha carr…I believe she is the head of the recruiting department, not some monkeys that answers the phone.

Anyway, I am really confused since she said no…a bachelor is the government requirement.

I will email her again to clerify what is stated on the website. Till then I will keep scratching my heads over this matter…

Keep posting if there is more info…thanks everybody.

camille

4

Unrelated to Camille’s complaint, but to answer the question posed by the title of this thread:

In my experience and those of most other teachers I know, 90% of the time -

No.

5

More than likely they are fully aware of the rules, but just prefer teachers with a BA as these applicants are easier to process. I am not just talking about the school side of things, but also the government side where mistakes are often made. Teachers who fit the mould get preference! I can understand this point of view, and as they lots of potential applicants to choose from, I can’t blame them for going for the ones that will prove easier to process and no doubt easier to farm out to their franchise owners.

Don’t worry too much about Hess Camille. Find an alternative, possibly a smaller school, and see how you go.

6

got to agree with mod lang on this one.