Taiwan: «Good citizen» law blamed for shortage of foreign teachers

Asia/Taiwan/atimes.com

Resumen: Una nueva ley que exige «certificados de buen ciudadano» de los extranjeros que buscan empleo en Taiwán está empeorando una aguda escasez de tutores privados nativos de habla inglesa, según los críticos. La enmienda a la ley que gobierna a las personas que buscan empleo en Taiwán por primera vez entró en vigor en junio, después de su paso por el Yuan Legislativo. Los solicitantes de empleo  están ahora obligados a presentar un certificado que garantiza que nunca han sido condenados por un crimen.

A new law demanding “good citizen certificates” of foreigners seeking jobs in Taiwan is worsening an acute shortage of native English-speaking private tutors, critics charge.

The amendment to the law governing people seeking employment in Taiwan for the first time took effect in June after passage by the Legislative Yuan. Job seekers are now required to submit a certificate guaranteeing that they have never been convicted of a crime.

The amendment was aimed at ensuring a safer learning environment for those receiving private tutoring, and preventing potential child abusers from using a teaching position to find victims, United Daily News reported.

People in the tutoring industry told Kuomintang lawmaker Chen Shei-saint that it could take weeks or even months for applicants to acquire such a certificate from their home countries, causing a severe shortage of native English-speaking teachers, Taiwan Apple Daily reported.

Meanwhile, the amendment does not affect the 4,800 foreigners already employed in Taiwan, prompting concerns.

There have been 74 tutoring applications pending government approval, and more than one-third of English-language summer classes in Taiwan are said to have been cancelled because of the shortage of foreign teachers.

Fuente: http://www.atimes.com/article/good-citizen-law-blamed-shortage-foreign-teachers/