China School Review
China School Review
A site for teachers and students in China
Reviews written by RickJeff
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Guangdong
Smoke and Mirrors at BNU
| Overall rating: | 2.0 | |
| Accomodation: | 1.0 | |
| Administration: | 1.0 | |
| Salary Issues: | 2.0 | |
| School Facilities: | 4.0 | |
| Intangibles: | 1.0 | |
| Overall: | 2.0 |
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Review
| The Good |
The students are wonderful, polite, and for the most part very motivated. Teaching them is a pleasure. The campus is beautiful, scenic and with all the facilities you could want. Most of the staff are committed, friendly and professional. |
| The Bad |
The primary concern for the recently employed teachers has been the accommodation. The new foreign staff have all been placed in a building that is still under construction. By this, I mean the building was still half a shell when we were moved in. Not only extremely noisy every day from 7am to late (sometimes midnight), but dusty, dirty and extremely dangerous. Teachers are constantly requested to be in their apartments at certain times for the testing of fire alarms, replacing faulty fixtures and repairing poorly constructed fixtures. This new accommodation does not meet the contractual obligation of a 'one bedroom apartment', as they are studio apartments. On a campus this far out of the city this is unacceptable as they not only have plenty of space, but there are also one bedroom apartments available (which are currently housing the previously employed teachers). The majority of the new teachers are very unhappy about the housing situation and have complained to admin, who, like most Chinese admins, have done nothing. The attractive rates of pay employ smoke and mirrors; pay is hourly, so the '10 month' contract is actually under 9 months, includes no sick pay, and the airfare is significantly lower than most universities pay (6000rmb). 20-22+ teaching hours is a lot. But being paid by the hour is the admin's way of advertising that the pay is good. These hours are much higher, nearly twice, the amount, than any university in China I've encountered. Staff are required to pay for all health check and visa costs. Staff are expected to attend English Corner, judge speaking competitions, give a guest lecture, and attend meetings, all of which are unpaid. There are no offices for the foreign staff and teachers are not allowed to use photocopiers and other standard preparation equipment. Handouts, laminates and other normal teaching materials must be paid for by the teacher. A not insignificant sum when you bear in mind you will be seeing upwards of 500 students. Class sizes for reading and listening lessons are around 70-80, oral 30-40. Major classes are generally smaller. It is suggested in the advertisement and during the interview that you will be teaching 50% content classes. Only two of the new teachers (out of 13) have got content classes; most accepted in the job primarily for this reason. Admin is largely unresponsive, ineffectual and unhelpful. Academic matters are dealt with in a highly confusing manner. Very few teachers are clear about what they are supposed to be doing as the established staff say 'do what you want' and the academic guidance say otherwise, but are unclear about what this should be. Some of the foreign faculty leave a lot to be desired in terms of their social habits and professionalism. The campus is located way outside Zhuhai. A 45 minute bus ride will get you to Xiangzhou, and an hour to Gongbei and the border with Macau. The bus service is inadequate and always packed from the moment it leaves campus. Taxis in Zhuhai are the most expensive I've paid outside of Shanghai, and cost about 50 rmb from Xiangzhou and 80rmb from Gongbei. There are two villages nearby - another bus ride (10-15 mins), Jinding and Tangjia, which though small have a few facilities, and the latter has two expat bars. Zhuhai is a pleasant enough place, but boring compared to many other cities in China. If you're looking for anything cultural, Zhuhai is not the place for you. |
| Overall | The big issue for the recently employed staff is the accommodation. Most of the staff are deeply unhappy about it, and many are considering quitting after just one semester. The other issues outlined above are magnified by this. On the other hand, the teaching is mostly good and the students are lovely. However, on balance, the terrible accommodation, the smoke and mirrors regarding the pay, and the location of the university all make it impossible to recommend this university in its present state. |
| Would You Recommend It? | No |
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