M. E Center - your review about that institution?

Hey i work for M right now, what would you like to know?

Are they good to work for? Do they treat you well? What's the accommodation situation like? I had an interview this morning but the guy was quite blunt and didn't really give much information away.

I am also thinking of working for M E Center. Could either of you give me some information about the school, working conditions, etc.?

My experience with M E  Centre was shockingly terrible, as were others, to give you a rough idea, out of 14 people that arrived in the summer, 11 have left to join another company. As to start, many things that are in the contract are not fulfilled also, if you do choose to go with them. Do not hand over your documents, as they hold them as a deposit for any property they give you as your employer, however this is never discussed until you wish to leave, and at that point they will hold them until they say you have finished. Also you will never make anywhere near the $1000 mark, that they promise as it took all teachers to join together to have a company meeting to rectify the original contract. There are many stories from people who have worked there, that have not ended well, I would stay away from M E Centre.

I agree, 'shockingly terrible' is a perfectly accurate term.
They are a shady company.
Though it is true you have a handful of men that work there, never rock the boat. 

The moment they can burn you, they will. It sounds preposterous, I know. I would have thought so too, but I can only say what countless people have said before me.

I think what it is is that they are in hot water from the parents, so they throw the teachers at them like fodder- or anyone else, taking blame is apparently death.
In essence it's a no win situation. You are the Russians on the front line in WWI. They have employed you and kept you in the dark on purpose (it feels like) and you are there to die in their place.


The person who arranges the teachers is a chronic liar and the main reason everyone leaves. She rules with guilt and 'last minute "forgetfulness"'. However, it is not a two-way street. She is welcome to throw something on you last minute, is weird and passive aggressive- even livid- if you say no. You may find the effects of saying no come down on you even weeks later.

And if you actually forget or need something last minute, she burns you. She might pretend to accommodate you, but it's not real. It's so freaky. I mean, work here if you want to see a psych study in this kind of person.



They have no real curriculum, no connection with the students at all.
You walk in to a class with no idea where the students are, their actual level of English. You have a book and a 'syllabus' (which is the titles of the chapters) and maybe some grammar points.
Sounds...reasonable? Doable? No
-First, the book is awful. Genuinely terrible. It's geared toward well traveled business adults. All of them are. It's boring, too high level and just rotten. The students are put pell mell into any class. I actually wonder if they are even tested at all for level.

-Second, none of the student bring their book to class. Ever. I would say maybe, MAYBE 20/100 students. IF that. None of them bring paper or pens.

-This is what you have to teach with. Okay, so let's do it by topics and grammar points! No problem. Wrong.
The students can barely say hello and they are in a PET class.
-You talk to the administration several times during this, you are confused and concerned. "Work with it", Then, you are dismissed or made to feel needy or stupid.
Okay..no books no real syllabus you can teach the students.... you start from the beginning, focusing on speaking. The students don't bring their books and it's rotten anyway. (every native teacher says so)
Hey! It's working! They are talking and participating. Sweet.

Oh no! A student or parent complains about you not following the book.
Instead of recalling the conversations you had previously, the administration lambastes you for not using the book or following the syllabus.



... And this folks is why no one but a couple people work them for longer than a month or two.

What teacher doesn't want to follow the book, at least in part? I mean, who wants to be responsible for comin gup with all new content for several classes?
And even then, why didn't they observe teaching instead of going to the students behind the teachers backs? Yadda yadda yadda.

And then if a complaint is logged (by that really nasty kid who was wadding up all of his papers and never comes to class) that the teacher never uses the book, then everything rains down on the teacher. Nothing the teacher said or did was ever remembered. Oh and all of those times you were  a few minutes late? (Waiting for the elevator all the kids like to play on in the morning) Lets throw that in to further prove your utter incompetence, because clearly 4 minutes late  at 7 AM to a class that is usually 15 minutes late proves just how much you don't teach these angels who put no effort whatsoever English.

Nothing is ever done unless there is a complaint by a student. The kids are rotten, because there is no discipline system in place at all. At all.
The teachers are told it is their responsibility to manage and discipline their class, but are given to guidelines, and apparently if a student complains it gets you in really hot water (about not teaching from the book they never bring).

The hall monitors monitor the teachers more than the students, and do nothing to keep the kids in class. There is no discipline system in effect. I have often seen hall monitors peering in at me, and students who are supposed to be in class playing or talking with a hall monitor.


TLDR: Don't work for them, unless you want a case study in unorganized insanity and finger-pointing.

I worked there once as a teaching assistant. To be honest, they sucked so bad. The whole company is immature. I felt so bad for the kids whose parents had to pay so much money for nothing. I knew some assistants who have worked there. To be honest, their English was horrible. They let me go without informing me and they let me wait for months and kept telling me that they didn't have classes for me and then they stopped contacting me. If the students were going to have a day-off, they would tell you the day before.
Good luck to you.
Sorry, I'm still so upset. I wasted my precious time waiting for them because I missed the kids so much.

I had scheduled an interview with them and they never showed up or answered my follow up emails. Not very professional if you ask me.

Hello all

So as to avoid defamation, could you please use an abbreviation and not mention the full name of the institution?

Thank you

Kenjee
Expat.com Team

Can anyone recommend anywhere that is good to work in Ho chi minh?

I had an interview with M E C recently and was offered a job the above reviews don't fill me with confidence!

How can I know what is MEC? I want to avoid that center for my friends, relatives' children & mine.

Try VAS or VUS. I heard from my friend that they need many teachers as of the moment.

I have worked for M.E Center for over 1 year now and can only speak highly of the company. I understand that employees have problems with companies they work with, but this happens with most companies that anyone works with, especially the differences when working in a foreign country. The first thing I can recommend about M.E Center is that they provide all full time teachers accommodation. When moving to a new country, finding accommodation to suit yourself can often be stressful and knowing it willbe provided for you takes a lot of weight off your mind before even arriving. As for the accommodation, I can only say good things about it, you have your own private room, bathroom and a shared kitchen. You also live with fellow teachers making it easier to make friends once arriving.

The teaching can sometimes be stressful as you often have to work in various public schools, occasionally with many different grades and levels, which can make planning difficult. However, if you do have any problems with your schedule, the company are always happy to help you out to try and resolve any issues you may have. I had issues with my schedule as I was teaching all primary school (which isnt my strongest point), so the company helped me out by assigning a more qualified primary teacher to those classes and giving me a high school to teach, which in turn, improved my quality of teaching

Feel free to ask any questions

Yep for a while longer, you can add to fbook cuz expat censors names n posts also to see I'm a real person and employee

Daniel Rapinchuk

Hey guys, just to be clear are you talking about this centre:
major.vn

Cheers

Hello,

Are there any teachers who are currently working here, that can advise me whether the situation is still the same?

Thanks!

Hi! I have a Skype interview scheduled wit M E Center in Ho Chi Minh tomorrow. After reading some reviews I am nervous but honestly most people only post reviews for bad experiences. Do you actually make >$1000 USD per month? How many teachers do you share a living space with? Are your documents held as collateral for your housing? How helpful is the staff and how many teachers do they have employed? I would really appreciate some advice!

Thanks, Kim

Don't think there's anything to worry about 😊

I just received an offer from them. It said 21,000,000 VND (Fixed Salary) and housing is included.
But after reading all these negative comments, I don't know if I shall accept the offer.

Although, the last negative comments were some months ago and the terrible ones over a year ago. I'm crossing fingers quality has changed. 

I asked and heard they have over 30 international teachers.

Did you receive the offer?

Hello,

I have accepted the job. I was unsure after reading the comments but decided to try it anyway.

I also accepted 😊 it looks like a very awesome institution 😊

I've received the same offer and accepted. Have a very good feeling about the school. Hope to see you there!

Hi Iksarra
How did it work out for you in the end?
You went last summer?

Has anyone worked there more recently? A lot of these comments are old... is it still the same? Is anyone working there now that can clarify all of this? Thanks!