One would think. The contract hours Ive been given for these “cram schools that are posing as ‘real’ schools” have all been somewhere in the 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. range. So I don’t know how that’s getting around compulsory education laws or if the owner is just BFFs with every parent and they register their child as homeschooling or what, but it’s happened three times to me now. I just assume this sort of thing is rampant after it happens to me more than once.
this part in the regulation was removed, and the below was added.
If there is a need for foreign language teaching, part of the time should be integrated into the activity curriculum, and it should comply with the kindergarten activity curriculum syllabus; it should not be used all the time, or part of the time in a non-integration way.
Well I know a foreigner that works in a kindergarten registered as a cram school and she has had inspectors follow her around for a full morning and there wasn’t even anything wrong with her taking the kids to the other location for lunch since both locations were registered for her work permit. I think bosses who have the guanxi are able to make sure their law skirting is water tight. Im not saying this is something that is OK, im just saying its something people are clearly getting away with as totally legal.
The departments here often have no idea or interest what the others are doing.
Just like the busking case where the Ministry of Culture might say one thing , but Ministry of Labor might say another .
Like for example the Ministry of Culture could allow someone to play at a charity event , but another department busts the performer for not following labor laws.
It was required that you could only work at the place stated on the individuals work permit and not at other branches. So for example you could work at ABC123 school at their Renai branch but not the Hsing Yi branch. That might have changed nowadays. It’s always best that if in doubt email the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ask.
Don’t take your bosses "It’s fine don’t worry about it , I’m connected " line. They’ll disown you fast when busted. They can take the fine and keep going the foreign worker on the other hand. …
Thanks Tando, so does that mean that immersion bilingual education in English (or French or Spanish) for kindergartens (2-6-year-olds) is legal now?
I am asking because I have a professional development company for teachers of this age group, a very underserved part of the world’s teaching population.
I’m not clear on the many types of possibilites for educating 2-6-year-olds in Taiwan, it seems like there are many possibilities (kindergarten or buxiban). So, let’s generalize it like this: the teaching of a foreign language to children 2-6 in a non-homeschool context.
Well, it’s definitely still illegal to teach a 2-year-old any subject matter in any language in any kind of setting, so that’s out of the question.
As for 3-6 year olds, yes let’s just generalize and say that it is legal to teach them English in certain types of non-home school education environments, but not all.
If your purpose is to train teachers to teach English to 3-6 year-olds, then yes, you have a market here. That’s the short answer.
no. about kindergarten the first one, and any organization including cram schools for under six kids, the second one. at least when the post was posted, iirc.
Ok that makes sense. I agree that they shouldn’t be teaching reading, writing, or math in kindergarten because then children who didn’t go to kindergarten will fall behind when they enter grade 1, and the knowledge disparity will be a nightmare for the teacher too.
Kindergartens and cram schools begin at age 3, no? Prior to age 3, kids may go to preschool which are not permitted to teach. They are more like daycare centers.
What do they do all day? Even if the littles are picking up a shapes and dropping them into various holes on the top of a box, that requires “instruction”, does it not?