Wednesday, August 26, 2015

A Near Miss While Job-Seeking in Mongolia: Part II

The school didn't trust the teachers. I couldn't trust them. That would not change even if the contract did.

Previous: the application process for KUDS and the Russian School

Before I could really celebrate, I needed to get all the necessary materials together, and quickly: they needed my passport, diploma, physical exam, and negative HIV test by August 15, so they could get me to Ulaanbaatar by August 25th. (Mongolian schools usually start on September 1.) When I went to Mongolia the first time, I knew by the end of February that I was leaving in early June, but now I had under two weeks. Is it even possible to get a visa in such a short time? Just in case something went wrong, I held off on my public announcement that I was going to Mongolia. But the timeline was so short I announced my new job a few days later anyway; it wouldn't do to call my friends as I was getting on the plane!

The days after my acceptance were rushed and emotional as I got my passport, diploma, Peace Corps documents, and medical tests in order. This itself was eventful, although outside the scope of this story. I was so busy on my end that I didn't care much that KUDS had not sent me any more definite material yet. Finally on Saturday, four days after being notified of acceptance, I got my official acceptance letters from both schools, and a contract. The contract was remarkable, first of all, because it was so short - barely two pages. It also bore the signature of J. Soronzon (Ж.Соронзон), the principal of the Russian Joint School, but not J. Solongo (Ж.Солонго), who heads the university. This was done for some unexplained "administrative purposes" although it was assured my relationship would be with both schools. I quickly checked and saw that the three main points from the ESL information packet - apartment, salary, and round-trip air transport - were there. The minor points, like taxi fare, were not though. In fact, the "Employer's Obligations" section was remarkably undeveloped - consisting of only those three points mentioned.

Page one of my contract from the Mongolian University of Film and the Mongolian-Russian Joint School.

Page one of my contract from the Mongolian University of Film and the Mongolian-Russian Joint School. The Russian School's principal J. Soronzon's signature and stamp is on the bottom.

I had to acknowledge I'd gotten the contract but declined to say anything else about it until I could look at it closely. Meanwhile, I called off a shopping trip with my mom to get winter clothes in order to type up the entire contract and post it to the teacher's forum. Trudging through it in such detail, I could tell that it was poorly written, by someone who was obviously not a lawyer (or a native English speaker). On the surface it guaranteed what was in the packet, but seemed to undermine them through a litany of "duties" for me and "rights" for the employer it undermined them. The fantastic job offer I'd gotten suddenly sounded sloppy, and stingy, and completely different from what I had been led to expect.

I went to a poolside barbecue that night, but I might as well not have gone. I was so obsessed with the status of my Mongolian job - if I had one - that I couldn't appreciate the moment. I jumped in the pool but swam among salary deductions, bit into a hot dog and tasted visa processing fees.

The tide of opinion on the ESL cafe forum shifted after I posted the contract terms. Originally teachers commended the job based on the terms in the info packet, but now they uniformly agreed it was a bad deal. I had known something was wrong, and now I realized what kind of "something" it was as the teachers singled out a number of other slippery points for individual criticism.

Sunday I wrote back to the representative with some of my concerns, noting that several teachers concurred with my opinion, and asked again to speak to some teachers from the school. His response is below:
In some places here there is a lack of detail, which you certainly have noted. Part of the reason for that is that this is uncharted ground, unprecedented in the history of either school. There has never been a foreign instructor at KUDS, and I understand that the same is true of the Mongolian-Russian Joint School. The ESL program at KUDS is doubling in duration. The upshot is that the program is being developed even as it is being delivered. You, and the other American ESL teachers, have the unique opportunity to help shape the future for these students, and the future of the program.

This is why there is not a full hour by hour breakdown at this point. We wanted to be fair, and to set reasonable expectations for all, and used the base of a 38 hour work week to set that expectation. It is a salary, rather than an hourly wage. It is, especially given that the salary is post-tax net, a good one.

The staff at both schools are experienced, knowledgeable and professionals in their field. The students are also among the finest in the country, driven and passionate about learning, especially in the arts. In the info document, you can see a few photos of the classrooms and lecture halls at KUDS and the Mongolian-Russian Joint School. There are computer networks throughout the building, the class rooms are consistent with schools I attended (I don't want to say how long ago Smile ). KUDS is located in a historic building; it was originally built to house the government offices. It was one of the first "skyscrapers" in UB (a skyscraper at that time was 3 stories tall).

I believe the visa that is being processed will be the HG visa, though I do not know that for certain. They are processing a long term work visa for you, and in researching that it would seem that the HG is the appropriate one. The HG visa can be renewed yearly. Mongolian visa restrictions have eased considerably in recent years. However, I will seek clarity on that for you. The visa will be completed prior to your departure, of course, and the visa itself issued at the airport in Ulaanbaatar (this is not an unusual situation, that is their protocol). I have not been told the cost of the visa, so I will find that out for you.

You make a very good point about the deductions. I will seek clarity on that question as well.

And you asked a couple of questions about prior foreign teachers, which I am afraid I cannot answer, as there haven't been any. Smile You are the first in what will be a long list of distinguished teachers. You will set the bar for those to follow.
I was utterly confused by his remark that there were no teachers I could contact and the we would be "the first." I mean, hadn't he taught at the film school? Furthermore you can clearly see foreigners teaching English in the promotional video at the Russian Joint School'swebsite:



He responded to that that he hadn't actually been a teacher at KUDS, but had had some sort of consultant role. I was apparently mistaken about his role. But now it threw some other things he said into doubt. As a consultant he no doubt met a few students, but likely didn't have any idea what it was like teaching them in a classroom. It could also explain why I had been asked fewer teaching-related questions than at other interviews I'd had. He didn't address the teachers in the Russian School video, but suggested I arrange a call with Consul Carmen B. Cabell tomorrow, as he might be able to allay some of my concerns. I did not know what the consul was supposed to do, as he obviously did not work at the school, but I agreed anyway.

The Mongolian-Russian joint school allegedly uses cameras to monitor teachers and enforce heavy salary deductions for offenses ranging from damaging school property to filling out rollbooks in the wrong color of ink.


Big Sister is Watching You


The next morning, on Monday, I posted the contract terms on Facebook too, and my friends who are more experienced teachers, or live in Mongolia, all offered pretty much the same criticism as on here. In fact, one of them called four particular provisions of the contract "bullshit." Also fortuitously, another friend reminded me that I had in fact met a woman who worked at the Russian School and could ask her. This teacher reported that the school did deduct from salary, like stated in the contract. I was actually lucky that the deductions were provided in my contract in English - when she started there, they only provided the school rules in Russian, which she didn’t speak. But most notable was her claim that the Russian Joint School installed cameras in the classrooms to monitor teacher behavior - and enforce deductions for mistakes - a situation she compared to Orwell's 1984. Big Sister Soronzon is watching you!

Given this, I began to doubt whether I would want to work for the Russian School even if they changed the whole contract.

That afternoon, I got a call from Consul Cabell, the Foreign Missions Head of Post at the American official at the Mongolian consulate in the U.S., asking if he could allay my concerns. I was surprised to be called by a consul official, who I assumed would be quite busy. Since he works at the consulate, not the schools, I asked how he could know much about the schools’ workings. He said he’s known the principals for many years and can vouch for their character. This actually did the opposite of reassure me: I do not want my bosses to be friends with a consulate official.

Since he asked what my concerns were, I expressed the major ones as politely as I could, and listened to his explanations, summarized below:
  • The teaching hours and duties are poorly defined: “This is a new enterprise” and they didn’t want to “fit it into a square box”
  • The pay is potentially much less than what is stated: They hire “enthusiastic” teachers and aren’t just in it for the money
  • Litany of penalties give the impression the school does not trust teachers: Said he wasn’t aware of the deductions. Also, everyone absolutely trusts everyone else.
  • Retroactive rent penalty: Also said he wasn’t aware of it
  • A teacher at the school said there were cameras in the classroom: “Well, cameras in classrooms aren’t uncommon nowadays.” And then he wanted to know how well I knew her, said that since I didn’t know her that well I should take her statements with a grain of salt, and she probably was just a very unhappy person and I can’t make a judgment based on one person’s opinion, against all the other teachers who love working ther.
Mr. Cabell sounded friendly and enthusiastic and concerned, which must do well for a job that requires acting as a go-between, but on reflection the answers were very hollow. You can be flexible without being vague; define some hours that sound reasonable, and if the breakdown of duties and workload seems off, adjust them later to suit the teacher's and school's needs. Enthusiasm and money are not mutually exclusive; I can get paid to do something and still have fun doing it. I would certainly not be enthusiastic if I had to wonder how much of my next paycheck I would actually get. And although I did not know the one teacher who complained very well, I did know her, which is more than I can say for Mr. Cabell. I had not myself heard from the supposedly numerous teachers who love working at the school. (Actually, had I really dealed with the school? I'd only dealt with their American proxies.) So yes, I do trust the disgruntled teacher more than you.

Longtime friends: J. Solongo of the Mongolian University of Film, and Carmen B. Cabell, Foreign Missions Head of Post at the Mongolian Consulate in the U.S.

I visited the website of the Consulate of Mongolia in the United States, at http://www.mongoliaconsulusa.us/the_mission.aspx, and Mr. Cabell IS an official. It also has a biography of him here: http://www.mongoliaconsulusa.us/consul%20cabell%20bio%2012.13.12.pdf. Even so, according to Wikipedia's entry for consul, a consul is an "official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries." If so, I am suspicious of this consul's ability to assist citizens of his own country, such as me, if he is friends with my boss.

The consul website also has a section on visa requirements, so I checked them. I had completely forgotten about passport photos! All my previous visas - to Mongolia, Japan, China, and Korea - required 2 3x4cm photos. The consulate page about visas lists these as a requirement. The school had never asked for them, so they couldn’t possibly be processing a work visa. As one of the posters on Dave's ESL cafe noted, in all likelihood they were planning to get me a tourist visa instead, which is easier and cheaper for the school. Work visas require the employer to pay extra fees on the foreign worker, so some places don't like them. However, working on a tourist visa is illegal and puts the worker in a precarious position. One of my friends once got a job at a private corporation in Mongolia, which did not get him a work visa and instead gave him only a tourist visa. After 90 days he had to leave the country and reapply for a new tourist visa to reenter, and in the process perjure himself about his reasons for visiting Mongolia.

That night I revised their contract with provisions I wanted (no deductions, no retroactive rent charge, clearly defined hours and duties) and emailed that to the rep too. I also said that I was curious if the other hirees had any experience in Mongolia and would like to talk to them. I admit that this was a front on my part - I wanted to let them know what I had found out that casts doubt on the schools' trustworthiness.

Meanwhile, my friends in Mongolia also referred me to more teachers - foreign teachers - at the Russian Joint School. In fact I had a lengthy chat with one of them. He seemed to have done better than the other teachers, but still gave a very negative assessment of the school. He did aver that he liked some of the students, but otherwise had nothing good to say. According to him, the school had had many foreigners over a period of 15 years. There was a camera in the restroom as well as the classroom. Many teachers had their salary cut in half for infractions. Few teachers renewed their contracts and some couldn't wait that long and bailed out despite the retroactive rent penalty. A German teacher was hit with heavy rent payments last year because of the policy. The apartment was only about $250 a month, so it was actually double rent.

On Wednesday, I heard from another applicant for the position, so I conveyed what I had found out. Already suspicious, she asked tougher questions at her interview than I had, which Greg didn't seem able to answer. She seemed to have had a variety of teaching experience already, and told me it was not good that the recruiter had not been a teacher, had not worked at one of the schools (the Russian school) he was recruiting for, and had no continuing relationship with the applicant so there was no one to appeal to if the relationship with the school went bad. Those considerations undermine the credibility of recruiters.

The punitive tone of the contract already suggested that the Russian School did not trust its teachers. The installation of cameras confirmed that. And since they had lied to me about the other foreign teachers, it seemed I couldn't trust them either. Such an atmosphere of mistrust is a fundamental problem, an issue of morality and personality, which would not change even if the contract did. I realized that even if they approved a change in terms I should decline acceptance of the contract. With that realization, I felt a great sense of relief after days of continual stress.

Before I got the chance to reject them though, they rejected me. Thursday afternoon, Greg emailed me and said the schools had considered my revisions to the contract, rejected them, and were withdrawing the job offer.

The strangest twist was yet to come though. I also heard from the other applicant, and she said she had been offered a job. She emailed me the contract terms they gave her. To my surprise, this new contract was actually incorporated some of the changes I requested! In light of this, I don't know why they were unwilling to negotiate with me. I think she still won't take the job, because she'd already heard enough bad things about them. But it is a good sign that maybe the schools realize they need to offer teachers better terms.

So, I'm not going to Mongolia.

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