Peizheng College (Guangdong)

I was there for 3 years and they were probably some of the best years of my life. If your goal is to explore Asia, it's a great place to call home-base. The campus is beautiful and serene, making it a great place to live a semi-retired kind of life.

Pros:
-Great hours, lots of time for you to pursue other interests.
-Cheap cost of living. Salary is way more than enough to live on.
-Great commute time. 7 minutes of walking from apartment to classroom.
-Perks include free use of an apartment in Hong Kong(perfect for getaways!) and free Chinese lessons
-Sweet students who are easy to teach

Cons:
-Is set in a rural area, far from the city center
-Transportation can be tricky

Awesome place to work as a Foreign Instructor.

I have just signed a new contract for my 3rd year at Guangdong Peizheng College.

Its located within a beautiful mountain and lake area in Chini Town.

The city of Huadu is 30 minutes by bus and Guangzhou city is about 50 minutes by bus.

There is about 55 foreign instructors and most of us are quite sociable.

Our apartments are only 2 years old, very new and modern.

Teaching the students is the best part of Peizheng College. The foreign instructors teach 20 periods per week which is about 16.5 hours per week. In my 2 years of employment at Peizheng College, I have always been paid on time and in full.

The new administration (IECO) has been in the office for the last 3 years. They are very good at sorting out the visa paperwork for new foreign instructors. In my experience they have looked after the foreign faculty really well.

Im definitely loving my life at Guangdong Peizheng College.

This is something I posted on another thread. Hopefully, this will shed some more light on the situation at Peizheng College. I have edited some of it, in order to paint an even clearer picture for this thread.

I should also mention here; in this post, I am not addressing any of the problems at PZ in regards to the program directors and management, nor the corruption of the admin. This post is only a note concerning the situation in regards to the Foreign Teacher population at this college. Hopefully, it will help anyone who is even remotely entertaining the thought of working at this school.

There certainly has been much posted recently on various threads and forums concerning the FTs at PZ being losers, druggies, alcoholics, lunatics, misfits, perverts and undesirables, etc. etc. Yes, it's a sad story; but much of it is true. Of course, by stating this; it may attract a certain personality type to apply there. Not my intention at all!

However, not every FT at PZ (past and present) necessarily falls into any of these negative categories. Surely, it takes a different personality to even think of traveling to China, and then residing there for the purpose of work. And certainly a very different personality to stay there year after year, after year. If you do speak to any of the FTs at PZ, as well as anywhere else in China, you will certainly hear a variety of stories and reasons why they are there. Some are honorable, and some not so deserving of respect.

Many are exploring. Some are hiding. A few are actually there for cultural exchange and to teach. There are missionaries. There are heathens. There are some seemingly normal and relatively sane people too (However, that number is very limited. But they do exist, besides their idiosyncrasies.).

And of course, there are all the undesirables (that everyone has heard of in the forums): and plenty of them. Yet, all in all, these categories of foreigners do have one thing in common; they are living and working in China. We all have our opinions of, and ways of dealing with the people we come in contact with. Some handle the social environment better than others. Peizheng is unique in that is has so many FTs; too many, in my opinion. And I think many who know of Peizheng (from the inside) will agree with that opinion. Therefore, it is only fitting that PZ would have more undesirables too.

By far, the ratio of undesirables, in relation to the descent folk so to speak, truly outweighs the numbers at other schools in China. So now, think about it: Find 70-80 people from various backgrounds and cultures, with different educational and work experience, different sets of ethics and moral values, and throw them together into a completely different environment other than the one they are used to; "Voila" you get a mess, just like the one at PZ. It's no surprise.

The source of the problem (as I tend to state this in other forums) is truly the "FAO" at PZ. They just don't know how to hire FTs. And they don't really know how to handle the ones they do hire; both the good and the bad. They have had this problem for many years, and now it has finally blown up in their face! And to tell you the truth, it's about time!

It would appear (through various forum posts and the fact that PZ is still advertising to fill positions this late in the season) that PZ is now facing the coming term with less teachers than it had anticipated. Yeah, there are murmurs on campus that EEC is changing the programs so they will not need as many FTs as they have had in the past. But even if that is true, usually it takes a very long time for any changes to actually be made. And, even if they have already put some of the changes in place; it looks like they are still short in the number of teachers they need for the coming term. Or should I say? They are short of foreign bodies to fill the PZ educational graveyard. This school is certainly not known for its standards of excellence.

And btw, those of you (both, new and veterans) who are teaching at Peizheng this coming term; be prepared to be doing a lot of overtime (whether you want to or not). The foreign supervisors will not ask; they will put it on your plate like it is expected of you to agree.

This seems to always happen at Peizheng, term after term; The FAO comes up short! Thus, the undesirables are left to storm the gates and reside within the walls and even outstay their welcome in many cases. But, this year, the FAO is coming up "way too short"; which one would think, would make the admin (and/or those above the admin) to take a good look at what's really going on in the FAO.

However, as stated by another poster on another forum (not word for word): "This is China and they will do whatever they want." And yes, the FTs are only foreigners here. And yes, Peizheng is Peizheng and it will do whatever it pleases; which tends to almost always displease most of the foreign body who are teaching there.

Yes!! It's good to see so many forums opening up 'the can of worms' that truly belongs to PZ and its FAO. Regardless of the difference in opinions that describe the situation at PZ; this thread (as well as all the other forums) is sure to help spread the word that Peizheng is an absolute "Avoid Destination" for most.

Peizheng is in desperate need of a "Face-Lift", and soon. When, and if, it does get one; hopefully, there will be some substance behind it and some real changes will be made (especially the FAO). This is not a time for PZ to exercise the usual Chinese concern of "saving face". Maybe the "Real Power" behind the scenes at PZ will soon realize that "to save face" now, they really have to make some dramatic changes!!! And yes! They should start with the FAO!!!

For the time being: Peizheng is truly a place to avoid, unless you need plenty of melodrama, senseless paperwork, and you are willing to abandon any principals that you may have concerning fair treatment and respect.