Measures for the Hiring and Management of Foreign Teachers (Draft for Solicitation of Comments)

Time of Release： 2020-07-21 09:00

Source: http://www.moj.gov.cn/news/content/2020-07/21/zlk_3252777.html

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1: (Legislative Basis) These Measures are drafted on the basis of the "P.R.C. Education Law", the "Teachers Law of the P.R.C.", the "P.R.C. Regulations on the Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners", and other laws and regulations so as to promote international cooperation and exchanges on education and regulate the hiring and management of foreign teachers.

Article 2: (Concept Delineation) "Foreign teachers" as used in these Measures refers to foreign nationals hired by education establishments who have obtained work permits to come to China and work residency certificates and who are engaged in educational and teaching work in [mainland] China.

"Education establishments" as used in these Measures refers to all kinds of lawfully established schools and kindergartens, private tutoring establishments, and off-campus training establishments carrying out education with a formal record.

Article 3: (Basic Policy) The recruitment of foreign teachers is to follow the policy of expanding openness, hiring to meet demand, ensuring quality, optimizing services, and classified management.

Article 4: (Scope of Hiring) Posts hiring foreign teachers should have the actual educational and pedagogical need with no appropriate candidates currently available domestically, and not violate relevant state provisions.

Article 5: (Special Obligations) Foreign teachers shall comply with China's laws and regulations, follow social mores and teachers' professional ethics, and comply with the principle of separating education and religion, the education and teaching activities and conduct that they carry out shall comply with China's education policies and basic education requirements, and must not endanger national sovereignty, security, honor, or the societal public interest.

Article 6: (Management System) The State Council's administrative departments for education are responsible for overall regulation of education establishments' hiring of foreign teachers; the State Council administrative departments for foreign affairs, science and technology, public security, and immigration are responsible for management efforts in accordance with their duties and division of labor, such as for foreign teachers' visas, work permits to come to China, entry, and residence certificates.

Local people's governments' administrative departments for education are responsible for oversight and management of education establishments' hiring of foreign teachers within that administrative region; local people's governments’ external affairs department, administrative departments for science and technology, public security organs, and other relevant departments are to be responsible in accordance with their duties and division of labor for management efforts related to foreign teachers in that administrative region.

Chapter II: Conditions and Procedures

Article 7: (Basic Requirements) Foreign nationals with the requirements for obtaining permits to come work in China and work residency permits, and who possess the education or teaching professional certifications provided for in this law, may be hired by education establishments as foreign teachers.

Article 8: (Qualifications Requirements) Foreign teachers shall possess teaching credentials and skills necessary for their engaging in teaching activities. Of these, those serving as subject matter teachers (including foreign languages) shall possess a bachelors degree or higher and 2 years or more educational work experience teaching that subject at an education establishment or relevant work experience in the field; those serving as foreign language training teachers shall have a bachelors degree or higher, have undergone training in language education and have obtained language teaching credentials, and will usually teach their mother language; to teach courses in Chinese, Mandarin levels must have reached level 3 b or higher (HSK- hanyu shuiping kaoshi standard level) or have obtained the corresponding certificate level by taking the HSK.

Foreign nationals that have obtained a doctorate or obtained teaching certifications from their country of nationality, or who have a bachelors degree or higher in education, may waive the relevant teaching experience requirements.

Article 9: (Other requirements) Foreign teachers shall be physically and psychologically healthy, have good character, have no criminal record, have no history of infectious disease or psychiatric disorders, and not use drugs or have used habit-forming medications for a long time, or have other illnesses or conduct that might impact student's safety and physical or psychological health.

Article 10: (Related Permits) Foreign nationals engaged in work as foreign teachers shall get work permits for foreigners coming to China, Z visas, and work residency certificates, and obtain approvals and make the filings for foreign teachers as provided before they can carry out teaching activities.

Article 11: (Establishment Responsibility) Education establishments hiring foreign teachers shall confirm that the foreign nationals have professional credentials and corresponding qualifications for serving as a foreign teacher.

Article 12: (Work Permits) The education establishments hiring foreign teachers shall apply for permits for foreigners to come to China to work from the provincial-level people's governments' administrative departments for science and technology or the authorized administrative departments. In addition to the materials required for permits for foreigners coming to work in China, they shall also submit proof of the foreign teachers' teaching qualifications as provided for in article 8 of these Measures, an explanation of the reason for the hiring, and a personal pledge of the fore nationals' compliance with articles 5 and eligibility under article 9 of these Measures.

Article 13: (Visa Applications) Potential foreign teachers shall apply for Z visas from the visa authorities based abroad based on the relevant procedures and provisions.

The visa authorities based abroad may use methods such as interviews and verifications of materials to decide whether to issue a Z visa.

Article 14: (Residence Permits) Educational establishments shall assist foreign teachers they want to hire in submitting applications for work residence permits to the public security organs of local people's government at the county-level or above.

Article 15: (Teacher Filings) Within 5 working days of foreign teachers receiving their permit to come work in China, education establishments shall upload copies or electronic documents of materials such as the first page of the contract, the page that indicates the dates of employment, and the signatures of both parties, the foreign teacher's work permit, and residents permit to the national foreign teachers' comprehensive information service platform, and the service platform is to generate a foreign teacher filing number.

Article 16: (Domestic Applications) Where education institutions plan to hire foreigners who already lawfully reside in mainland China to be foreign teachers, they shall handle permits for working in China and work residence permits in accordance with these Measures, and conduct foreign teachers filings as provided. Where education establishments plan to have foreigners who have obtained permanent residency credentials serve as foreign teachers, they need to conduct foreign teacher filings in accordance with provisions.

Chapter III: Service and Management

Article 17: (Establishment Duties) Education establishments shall complete systems for hiring, managing, serving, and evaluating foreign teachers, regulate foreign teachers' conduct, safeguard the lawful rights and interests of foreign teachers, and keep foreign teachers' employment files.

Article 18: (Contract Management) Education establishments shall sign written contracts with the foreign teachers they hire. The content of the contract shall include, but is not limited to: The foreign teachers' work tasks, work address, the duties of the post, the period of employment, the rights and obligations of both parties, evaluation methods, dispute resolution mechanisms, and liability for contract violations.

Article 19: (Information Notifications) Education establishments shall announce information such the names, nationality, and other basic information on foreign teachers they hire and well as the post they are hired for, their filing number, work permit, and other information on their information boards and website, except as otherwise provided by the state.

Article 20: (Training for Positions) Based on the foreign teachers' education background and the characteristics of the profession, education establishments shall draft a training plan for before and after foreign teachers take their positions, and shall organize or entrust a specialized educational establishment with the capacity to carry out at least 20 hours of training for the position for foreign teachers hired for the first time, with content including China's Constitution, laws, national conditions, teaching ethics, education policies, professional knowledge and educational skills.

Article 21: (Establishment Management) Education establishments shall strengthen services and management for foreign teachers in accordance with laws and contractual agreements, and ensure the quality of education and teaching.

Education establishments or foreign teachers must not carry out short-term concentrated courses through clearly unreasonable methods such as concentrated class schedule arrangements.

Article 22: (Management of Part-time Employment) During a single employment period, foreign teachers can only enter into a contract with one education establishment to obtain a filing number.

With the consent of the hiring establishment, foreign teachers may have reasonable part-time work in other education establishments. Where foreign teachers work part-time, the employing establishment, the foreign teacher, and the part-time education establishment shall sign a tripartite agreement to clarify the rights and responsibilities of all parties. The hiring establishment must not collect any fees from the part-time education establishment. The part-time employment contract shall be reported for filing to the regulatory department for education which shall circulate a list to be filed by the entry/exit management departments of the public security organs. Foreign teachers' cumulative class time for part-time employment must not exceed their class time at the hiring establishment.

Article 23: (Evaluation Oversight) Education establishments shall complete evaluation systems, strengthen regulation and oversight of foreign teacher's professional ethics and styles, and comprehensively evaluate foreign teachers' performance of their duties.

Where foreign teachers are teaching minors, the hiring establishment shall perform legally-prescribed duties to protect minors and employ appropriate measures to ensure physical safety and physical and psychological health of the minors.

Article 24: (Incentive Measures) Education establishments shall safeguard and support foreign teachers carrying out teaching and research, academic exchanges, and other such activities, and their participation in democratic management through appropriate methods.

Education establishments shall give commendations and awards to foreign teachers with outstanding performance in areas such as education and teaching, cultivation of talent, and promoting international exchanges with China, and may make recommendations for awards or commendations to the competent departments or apply to governments and their departments.

Article 25: (Modification of Employment) Where foreign teachers change their employment to a different educational institution, the education establishments shall apply de Novo for a permit for foreigners coming to China to work and a work residence permit, and handle the relevant formalities, and concurrently apply de Novo to obtain a foreign teachers filing number in accordance with these provisions.

Article 26: (Platform Construction) The State Council administrative departments for education is to establish and manage the national foreign teachers' comprehensive information services platform and establish specific regulations for foreign teachers' filings.

Administrative departments for education and education establishments may register on the national foreign teachers' comprehensive information services platform and log-in to the platform for filings and inquiries into relevant information.

Chapter IV: Oversight and Accountability

Article 27: (Information Sharing) Establish information sharing mechanisms for foreign teachers. The State Council's administrative departments for science and technology shall send information on foreign teachers who have been issued work permits to come to China to the State Council's administrative departments for education in real time, and the State Council's administrative departments for education shall send the list of those prohibited foreign teachers to the State Council administrative departments for science and technology in real time.

Article 28: (Routine Regulation) Local people's governments' administrative departments for education and for science and technology, public security organs' entry/exit bodies, and other relevant departments shall strengthen routine regulation of education establishments' hiring of foreign teachers, to promptly discover and investigate violations of relevant laws and regulations in the hiring of foreign teachers.

Where in the course of routine oversight or through channels such as complaints and reports, administrative departments for education and educational guidance bodies discover that education establishments have hired foreign nationals to serve as teachers, they shall inspect whether they have permits for foreigners coming to work in China, work residence permits, and foreign teach filing number and shall promptly report any illegality to the competent departments.

Article 29: (Creditworthiness Records) Establish a credit record system for foreign teachers. Foreign teachers' compliance with Chinese laws and contractual agreements, high quality of education and teaching, and good educational ethics shall be reflected in education establishments' evaluations and reported to the administrative departments for education to be included in the records of the foreign teachers' comprehensive information services platform.

The administrative departments for science and technology and the entry-exit management bodies of public security organs are to facilitate foreign teachers who have received commendations from the government and relevant departments and have good credit records in obtaining permits and handling relevant procedures.

Article 30: (Records of Untrustworthiness) In any of the following situations where foreign teachers violate contract provisions, the education establishments shall report to the administrative departments for education after giving punishments. Upon verification by the administrative departments for education, they are to be included in credit records:

(1) Serious academic misconduct;

(2) Violating regulations to engage in compensated work outside of the educational establishment that hired them;

(3) Dismissal for violations of the hiring establishment's rules;

(4) Leaving the position without authorizations before the completion of the hiring period.

Article 31: (Employment Prohibitions) In any of the following situations, education establishments shall dismiss foreign teachers and report to the administrative departments for education to make a credit record:

(1) Have actions or speech that harm China's national sovereignty, security, reputation, or the societal public interest;

(2) Was pursued for criminal responsibility;

(3) Obstructing the implementation of education policies;

(4) Had conduct in violation of public security management such as drug use;

(5) Sexually assaulted or abused minors;

(6) Illegally engaged in religious education or proselytization;

(7) Engaged in cult activities;

(8) Sexually harassed students or otherwise seriously violated China's social mores and teachers' professional ethics and code of conduct'

(9) Provided false information in applying to come to China to serve as a teacher;

(10) Have a cumulative total of more than three records of untrustworthiness as provided for in article 30 of these measures.

Education establishments must not hire foreign personnel with the circumstance provided for in the preceding paragraph to serve as foreign teachers.

Article 32: (Illegal hiring) Where education establishments and other social organizations illegally hire foreign nationals as teachers without permits or filings, or organize hiring of foreign nationals to illegally engage in educational and teaching activities, the public security organs and their entry/exit management bodies for local people's governments at the county-level or above are to give punishments in accordance with law. Where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is to be pursued in accordance with law.

Article 33: (Establishment Fraud) Where documents and materials are fabricated or modified in applications for foreign teachers' work permits to come to China or work residency permits, the public security organs and their entry/exit management bodies for the local people's government county-level or higher are to give punishments in accordance with law.

Article 34: (Management Responsibility) In any of the following situations where education establishments violate these Measures, the administrative departments for education at the county-level or above shall order corrections and give a fine of up to 10,000 RMB per incident, and give warnings or punishments to the primary responsible persons for the education establishment; where the circumstances are serious, they may be lawfully ordered to stop recruiting students, and the administrative departments for science and technology are not to accept their applications for foreigners to come to China to work for 1-3 years; and where the circumstances are especially serious, the administrative departments for education are to cancel their permits.

(1) Hiring foreign nationals who have failed to obtain foreign teacher filing numbers to serve as foreign teachers or not timely reporting for filing;

(2) Discovering that foreign teachers have been hired who have the circumstances listed in articles 30 or 31 of these Measures, and not promptly punishing them;

(3) Arranging for foreign teachers to engage in illegal business activities or carry out clear unreasonable traveling short-term concentrated coursework;

(4) Inadequately managing foreign teachers, causing a heinous social impact;

(5) Not promptly conducting an investigation and handling of complaints from students' parents that foreign teachers have violated laws or regulations;

(6) Misleading the public by conducting false publicity regarding foreign teachers resume and abilities;

(7) Violated regulations on part-time work for foreign teachers.

Article 35: (Situation Notices) Where the administrative departments for science and technology or public security organs discover in their work that education establishments have illegally hired foreign nationals or that foreign teachers have illegal or criminal activities, they shall promptly send notice of the situation and the results of investigations to the administrative departments for education.

Chapter V: Supplemental Provisions

Article 36: (Supplementary Provisions) Where schools of higher learning hire foreign teachers to conduct academic exchanges or as short-term visiting scholars, they shall follow relevant provisions to apply for F visas or corresponding Visa types. Schools of higher learning are to conduct management of foreign teachers' educational and teaching activities with reference to these Measures.

These measures may be applied by reference for the hiring of foreign teachers at schools for the children of foreign nationals.

Where online training establishments hire foreign nationals outside the mainland to take on educational and teaching work, refer to the provisions of these Measures on qualification requirements and contract formation, to carry out services and management.

Article 37: (Accompanying Policies) Each province, autonomous region, and directly-governed municipalities' administrative departments for education may draft specific regulations for managing the hiring of foreign nationals.

Article 38: (Effective Date) This law is to take effect on XX/XX/2020.

Where provisions on hiring foreign teachers that were previously published by the State Council departments for the administration of education or for science and technology, or by the former Foreign Experts Bureau, are inconsistent with these Measures, these Measures are controlling.

Those already engaged in foreign teacher work prior to the implementation of these Measures shall perform filing duties in accordance with article 19 of these Measures within 6 months of the data on which these Measures take effect.