Public schools
Thatâs bad news. How do you know this and what area is it for? It seems that the policies vary by the region.
This is for the bilingual program contract. The national one that the cities will likely followâŚ
I still donât understand the difference. Do you mean the TFETP contract no longer pays for the flights home of teachers on APRCs? Is this stated in the contract that you have seen, or you heard a rumor?
for school year 112
âIf Party B is a foreigner with an Alien Permanent Resident Certificate (APRC) or
an Alien Resident Certificate (purpose of residence: dependent) in Taiwan, or if
Party Bâs spouse or immediate family members have a household registration in
Taiwan, they are not eligible for airfare reimbursement.â
It is very clearly stated and not a rumourâŚ
Thatâs too bad⌠I never believed I would get it anyway, having lived here for so long. Based on the wording, it seems like it is only for round-trip tickets to and from ones home city, so being in Taiwan, I donât think I would have qualified anyway without this change, unless I applied from abroad.
At least the housing allowance is still there. Itâs not like Iâll ever be able to buy a home.
You dont get airfare reimbursement if you have an APRC or a Taiwanese spouse. If you need a work-based ARC, you still get the airfare reimbursement. Its not about where you apply from.
I donât know what theyâre thinking. Airfare for the teacher and one relative was more than worth it on the contract â 40kntd each way x 2 people is a HUGE benefit for a public school teacher. So many FETs are pissed AF â lived and taught here for decades, now nearly 6,000USD worth of benefits have been taken away as a penalty for having more experience (even more loss if you or your spouse owns property â bye bye 10k/month housing benefit on top!). Its like the MOE wants to be like Fulbright and only have people that donât know what theyâre doing in the classrooms. Thatâll get the Taiwanese fluent in English in no time!
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Thatâs the spirit!
Wait . . .
Guy
If itâs any consolation to the public school teachers reading this thread, I as a uni teacher have received zero (0) flights home (or anywhere) from my uni or from the MOE since I took such a position in Taiwan, either with an ARC or with an APRC. None, zero, mei you.
Where theyâve been adding money, though, is for EMI. Like lots of money. And more is apparently coming. No air tickets, though.
Guy
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Maybe we could all write an open letter to the MOE?
Here is a draft
:Taiwan Ministry of Education:
We, the collective body of foreign English teachers in Taiwan, hope this letter finds you well. We are writing to express our concerns regarding recent changes to the Foreign English Teacher Program, changes that have had significant impacts on us and the communities we serve.
Over the past couple of years, we have experienced several shifts in policy. Last year, the accommodation bonus of 5,000 for singles and 10,000 for married couples was removed for those of us who own a house. This year, we noticed another alteration with the removal of the airfare allowance for those of us holding an Alien Permanent Resident Certificate (APRC) or living on a Joining Family Resident Visa (JFRV) in Taiwan.
The effects of these changes are two-fold. Firstly, they disadvantage those of us who have committed to a long-term stay in Taiwan, by removing benefits that previously supported our decision to make Taiwan our home. Secondly, these measures discourage temporary work visa holders from seeking permanent residency, thus reducing the likelihood of these teachers investing in the long-term educational success of their students.
At the same time, we understand that the Ministry is keen on attracting licensed and experienced teachers to the public school system. However, the recent changes to the program, coupled with the competitive offerings from private schools, make it increasingly challenging for the public education sector to attract and retain such professionals. Private institutions often offer higher pay and more attractive incentives, making them a preferred choice for many qualified teachers.
While we understand the financial constraints and the desire to diversify the teaching community, these changes inadvertently promote a system that favours short-term commitments and increases teacher turnover. This instability is not conducive to a stable learning environment, which is essential for student success.
We are collectively invested in the education of Taiwanâs students and wish to see them thrive. We believe that the long-term commitment of teachers plays a crucial role in this. Therefore, we respectfully request that the Ministry of Education reconsider these recent changes.
We suggest opening a dialogue to discuss potential solutions that maintain the attractiveness of the Foreign English Teacher Program for both long-term and short-term teachers, without compromising the stability and quality of education. We believe that together, we can create a system that benefits everyone involved: teachers, students, and the broader Taiwanese society.
Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to your response and to working together to continue improving the educational experiences of our students.
Sincerely,
The Foreign English Teachers of Taiwan
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Theyâre thinking that theyâre not going to lose many teachers by removing the perk, but the perk will still attract new teachers. They save money. Iâd bet money someone said âwin-winâ in the meeting where it was discussed, and everyone laughed.
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But we knew that when we took the job. Iâd be very pissed off if I signed a contract that had the benefit of a flight in it only to see it removed at a later date.
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Oh a lot of the non-income based perks I received over the years have been stripped away, steadily, as the system moved away from public sector largesse to . . . . something else. I guess the point, in the public university sector anyways, has been to provide income qua income to try to remove the nontaxable perks of yesteryear.
Guy
Health checks, gym membership type of stuff? I doubt anything on the level of a free flight.
Yes a bunch of small stuff, almost all of it stripped away over the years.
Guy
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Considering that universities other than say NTU/NTNU/NCCU etc. are basically closing due to lack of enrollment, a university position really isnât something to aspire to anymore. This is especially considering that in Taiwan there are far too many college grads with not enough jobs out there.
Itâs useless to tenure at a university if itâs closing up due to lack of students.
You really have to shoot for universities with big research budget, and in Taiwan that would be NTU. Youâd have to win the lottery for a chance at a full time position with modest income.
Stick with bushibans, or 7-11, or start a coffee shop. Education as a job is dead in Taiwan or elsewhere.
By the way just so you know, tenure positions are extremely hard to come by in the US too, with vast majority of them being adjunct professors making 12 dollars an hour! Itâs a big problem there too.
Yeah thatâs probably their logic. I hope it comes back to bite them in the butt, but it probably wont. I know a lot of FETs who quit the problem to work at private schools (childrenâs tuition paid for, higher housing allowance, way higher salary, among other perks, is why they went to the private schools), only to come rushing back to the FET program (and sometimes even return to the same school, on opposite sides of the island from where they moved) the following year. Theres something about being an FET that keeps people coming back, but I have to wonder if basically eliminating benefits for people with a connection to Taiwan will be a final straw for enough people to make a difference. The flight and housing allowance pretty much brought FET pay to be around what local teachers would make (given their bonuses and pension). I would be genuinely curious to know if not getting the flight and housing stipends puts FETs below local teachers as far as âtotal annual benefitsâ are concerned.
It was exhausting to hear âyouâre making a really large amount of moneyâ from the principal of one school, only to find out that my coteachers are being paid multiple months additional salary in âbonusesâ, extra $$ for each class after 18 classes (I started being paid for each class after 22), not to mention they were in the pension system from day one (I worked for five years before I was qualified, and was only qualified because I got an APRC).
Yeah, that sounds about right. Why attract foreigners that you claim to âneedâ when you are convinced you have them backed into a corner? Anyway, its almost the end of May. For most FETs, the flight tickets home and back have already been booked. When they were asked in March if they intended to stay, they did so under the impression that it would be the same pay structure and benefits as last year (and the 20+ years leading up to now).
I would hope that an insufficient amount of people stay on, but im sure thatâs not going to happen. Plus, you dont need a teaching license to be an FET anymore. This opens up the entire class of people who are fully unqualified to be teachers to abuse that theyâll take, given the comparatively better salary and benefits.
If humans are going to continue to produce offspring, the need for education isnt going to go away. Cheapskates who think âkindergarten is glorified babysittingâ (more development happens in the first six years of life than the entire rest of life) or that you âjust need to have a pulseâ to be an educator will most certainly set up the next generation for failure. Educators have to fight to be paid reasonably and treated with respect, even though they are literally responsible for making sure there is a population of people who arenât stupid when we reach retirement age/start to need to be looked after.
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Those people are kinda stuck here already, what are they gonna do?
Which in Taiwan means we are entering a phase with more teachers than students. I guessed a while back on another thread that the would raise qualifications expected rather than anger people already here by taking things away. Seems I am still learning about how things work here