Lack of checks leads to hiring of potentially dangerous staff(26151)-英语教育-(51)-21英语网

本文作者： AGENCIES

　　据美联社报道，亚洲英语热促使外籍英语教师职位炙手可热。但许多亚洲学校表示由于缺乏规范、合理的外教审核制度，考查应聘者的身份和背景成为一大难题，甚至出现了国外犯罪嫌疑人担任英语教师的案例。

　　THE English-teaching circuit in Asia is filled with transient foreigners, from backpackers needing to make quick cash to recent college graduates looking for experience, AP reported.

　　Turnover is high and screening is minimal, opening windows for people with phony credentials or even those suspended from teaching at home like John Mark Karr, the man suspected of killing 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey 10 years ago in Colorado, US. Although prosecutors recently dropped their case against Karr when DNA tests failed to link him to the slaying of Ramsey, Karr is still awaiting trial on the child porn charges. Karr taught for a few months in South Korea in 2002, in Honduras last year and in Thailand， this year before his arrest. In April 2001, he had been arrested in California for possession of child pornography. He vanished after serving six months in jail, and his teaching license was suspended a year later.

　　Convicted offenders like Karr from various countries have popped up as English teachers in Asia. But schools say there is no easy means of checking up on foreigners applying for jobs.

　　"A telephone interview, a resume and a picture of the candidate is all we have," said Kim Soo-ho, an official at Englishwork, a teacher recruiting agency in Seoul, South Korea. "It is physically difficult to check the background of people when they are from overseas."

　　Bernadette McMenamin, head of the Australian-based advocacy group Child Wise, said foreign teachers with criminal histories can easily stay beneath the radar because background information is not readily shared between countries, making the screening process difficult for even the most prestigious institutions. Karr taught first grade for two weeks at one of Bangkok's finest schools before he was fired for being too strict.

　　The demand for English skills in Asia puts pressure on schools to fill job vacancies quickly.

　　Last year in Japan, there were 4,500 foreign language schools with nearly 14,000 teachers. South Korea had 12,000 native English-speakers teaching at private schools. Websites post openings at schools across Asia, making it easy for teachers to work short stints in one country before lining up a job and jumping to another.

　　According to a source within the South Korean Ministry of Justice, last year the government decided to pay cash rewards for information leading to the arrest of foreigners working without proper authorization.

　　Education officials in Thailand have also told local media they will work with schools and police to tighten screening procedures.

　　