For overseas English tutors, new rules will make it harder to find a part-time job  

下月起語言類外教持證上崗 持證能否管住私聘外教？

(Photo: Baidu)

(ECNS) -- For overseas students like Michal, getting a part-time job teaching English used to be as easy as the click of a mouse.

After checking his ID and accent, a woman hired him to teach her 9-year-old son English for one summer. Michal got 100 yuan ($16) per hour in return.

But the management major from UK admitted that he didn't know much about teaching. All he did was play with the boy, encourage him to speak more and correct his pronunciation occasionally.

"A native English speaker, a chance for my son to practice oral English, and a reasonable price – that's all I'm looking for," said the mother.

China has a huge unregulated market for private tutoring. Foreign students studying at Chinese universities can easily find a job to teach English, Korean, French and other languages. Employers hardly run background checks, and little teaching experience is required.

But this may change as the Beijing municipal government raised the threshold in September for foreigners to work in the capital. Foreign employees should be aged 18 and 60, healthy and with no criminal record. They should have a bachelor's or higher degree and at least two years related work experience and a valid visa.

From October 31, all foreign teachers are required to have teaching certificates or other international language teaching qualifications, including TEFL and TESL.

Despite the new rules, the private tutoring market is not likely to vanish soon.

Huge gaps exist in the demand and supply of foreign teachers. It's estimated that demand has risen to 100,000 as Chinese parents put more and more emphasis on English education, while China only has a supply of 30,000 qualified foreign teachers.

Private tutoring is an economical option for many families. The market rate is around 100 yuan per hour for one-on-one tutoring, while some overseas students choose to do it for free in exchange for lessons in Mandarin. However, classes at language institutions cost at least 1,000 yuan ($160) for several sessions, and small or one-on-one classes cost much more.

Experts say the new rules are necessary to ensure the safety of kids.

Last year, a foreigner taught children English in Beijing who was later found to have a conviction for child pornography in the US. Another teacher, who had been teaching English in Nanjing, was wanted for questioning by British police for child sex offences.

Currently, about 37,000 foreigners work in Beijing, coming mainly from the US, Japan, South Korea, Germany and Australia, while around 500 language institutions employ foreign teachers.