Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

China Will Keep a Closer Eye on Foreign Teachers

China on Tuesday issued Tuesday draft rules to toughen oversight of hundreds of thousands of foreign teachers, who cna be fired for "words and deeds" considered harmful to the country's sovereignty.

BEIJING (AFP) — China on Tuesday issued Tuesday draft rules to toughen oversight of hundreds of thousands of foreign teachers, who can be fired for "words and deeds" considered harmful to the country's sovereignty.

Foreign teachers also will be banned from "illegally engaging in religious education or preaching," according to the guidelines drawn up by the education, foreign, public security and science ministries.

The rules have been submitted for public comments until Aug. 21 before almost certain approval.

In recent years Beijing has tried to make China's education system more patriotic, eliminating what it calls immoral foreign influences.

The new guidelines would require teachers to undergo at least 20 hours of training on topics such as the Chinese constitution and teachers’ ethics.

They follow a spate of detentions of international teachers in recent years on allegations of sex abuse and taking drugs.

The guidelines say teachers should be fired for such criminal offenses.

Those found to be violating the rules must be reported to educational authorities.

The guidelines also require all foreign teachers to possess a bachelor's degree or higher, at least two years of teaching experience and relevant language teaching qualifications.

Schools that illegally hire foreign teachers without the right qualifications or approval, or mislead the public about teachers' qualifications, can be fined up to $1,400 per teacher.

Teaching in China can be a lucrative career path for foreigners, especially if they are young graduates. 

Demand for foreign English teachers in particular remains robust, and many command salaries that are much higher than average teachers.

There were more than 400,000 foreign teachers working in China, according to a 2017 survey by state media, but only one-third were employed legally.

High-profile criminal cases have put foreign teachers in the spotlight. 

A Colombian national was sentenced to five years in prison last August for molesting a 4-year-old at the kindergarten in Shandong province where he taught.

In July 2019, 16 foreigners including seven teachers at the Xuzhou branch of language school franchise Education First, were arrested for allegedly taking drugs. 

© Agence France-Presse

Categories / Education, International, Politics, Religion

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Loading...