The craze for international schools has, however, been tempered following revelations that two foreign teachers working in Chinese international schools had been convicted of child sex offenses in their home countries.
Neil Robinson, a former teacher at Beijing World Youth Academy, was arrested this April after it was revealed that he was wanted by police in the United Kingdom for the rape of a child and distribution of indecent images.
This case was immediately followed by the exposure that a 63-year-old American, who has twice been convicted of child pornography offences in Illinois, was working as an English teacher in Nanjing.
Education experts have commented that the scandals highlight major loopholes in the management of foreign teachers, with parents developing "blind trust" in Westerners in the wake of the surging demand for a Western education in China.
A foreigner who wishes to work as a teacher in China should acquire a foreign expert certificate which is granted by a local bureau of foreign experts affairs and must be renewed annually.
The Beijing Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs told Xinhua's The Globe magazine they had to ask for assistance from Chinese embassies in individual countries if they want to check a foreigner's criminal record, as it is extremely hard to get access to such information once the foreigner has legally entered China.
A member of staff with the Nanjing Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs confirmed that the Jiangsu provincial education authority didn't require foreign teachers to provide a criminal record check as part of an overall individual background investigation.
In the wake of the child sex scandals in Beijing and Nanjing, the State Administration of Foreign Experts urged local foreign experts bureaus to work more closely with local public security and education departments in order to improve the supervision of foreign teachers hired by training institutions and primary and middle schools.
Sick girl realizes dream on the stage
Feedback
RSS
