Sign the Petition: End the Industry’s Abuse of ESL and EFL teachers

The Abuse of ESL/EFL Teachers in Australia

ESL or EFL teachers in Australia are often exploited and underpaid. Well experienced and highly qualified teachers are surprisingly shunned by ELICOS centers to maximize profit.

Many English language providers prefer to hire new graduates with no or very little experience so that they can better compete in the industry.

This generally means offering educational agents a higher commission, investing more money into marketing, resources, facility or location. In other words, the teacher, who is right at the center of the students’ learning experience, gets the short end of the stick. Unfair.

Turning the Blind Eye

What’s worse, governmental agencies such as TEQSA and ASQA whose job is to safeguard Australia’s 3rd largest export and to protect international students, do not seem all too keen on safeguarding the rights of English teachers. They are standing by watching the abuse and exploitation go on turning the blind eye on the real threat to the ELICOS sector and education sector at large. They talk about quality assurance yet ignore the unfair treatment of experienced teachers who have to dumb down their resume to get hired.

Enough is enough

Enough allowing the educational agents to charge 25%, 30% and 40% while experienced teachers are paid $35 or $40 per hour, and Director of Studies offered a ridiculously low annual salary. Enough allowing non-academic school owners to take advantage of the teachers’ passion, hard work and innovation without giving credit or recognition.

This must end. The humiliation must end. The government must reign in the educational agents and stand up for the basic rights of ESL teachers who, without their service, there is no industry to begin with.

I take a stand now. I sign this petition in the hope that my voice will be loud enough to be heard by those with decency and common sense.

Patrick Hayeck