Teacher’s Vietnam hell: SA woman tells of ordeal with ‘ruthless’ company

A South African teacher has warned other prospective teachers to do their homework before considering teaching abroad, especially in Vietnam, after her experience.

Annie Smith (not her real name) said she didn’t want to discourage people from going to Asia.

“There are far better destinations as far as salaries, circumstances and professionalism are concerned. Countries like Taiwan, South Korea, China and Japan come to mind. Don’t be fooled by rosy ads and promises by prospective employers in Vietnam. It might just end up being very traumatic,” she said.

Smith had been teaching English in Asia for about 10 years when she decided to add Vietnam to her list.

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“In general, my teaching experience in Asia was superb and I met some wonderful people. I taught at cram schools and universities and had a great time. However, as far as Vietnam is concerned, my experience was extremely unpleasant,” she said.

Exploited by the system

Smith said applicants should be ready to be exploited by the system.

“Usually, all costs involving visas and medical examinations should be paid for by the employment company. In Vietnam, this is not the case. The teachers are responsible for all costs incurred.

“Most of the time, only threemonth visitors/business visas are granted, which means teachers have to go on regular visa runs with all costs incurred by them – and these visa runs happen more than once. They cause terrible discomfort as you have to leave the country each time,” she said.

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Smith said the company requested all personal documents that it would supposedly only keep for two or three weeks to apply for a work visa.

“This is not the case. Company staff working with your documents can be ruthless and dishonest. They couldn’t care less about the discomfort they cause. Your personal documents will be confiscated for an indefinite period. My documents were kept for at least three months and all efforts to get them back were ignored. I had to shout at them before I got them back,” she said.

Smith said this meant she couldn’t apply for other positions elsewhere as she needed her documents.

“They know that. The teacher is being kept prisoner. Going to the cops won’t serve any purpose either. Allegedly, they are being bribed by the companies and nothing happens. Even supposedly long-standing ‘reputable’ companies are apparently guilty of this,” she added.

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Smith said it was concerning because in cases where visas expired due to the company’s incompetence and neglect, the teacher could still get arrested and even end up in jail while the company will only receive a small fine as punishment.

Warning to check for positions on reputable websites or organisations

Criminologist Professor Jaco Barkhuizen urged those wanting to teach overseas to check for positions on reputable websites or organisations to ensure the legitimacy of the agency.

“A smarter move would be to contact the embassy of the country you are potentially going to teach in, to ensure it is aware of the agency. It makes sense seeing that you need to apply for a working visa when you go to teach abroad,” he said.

He said people were being targeted and exploited by scams because they were desperate for work opportunities or to earn money.

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