BREAKING NEWS: GPOE cutting contracts suddenly

I got renewed for another year at my school and signed the new 1 yr contract back in june.
Then about a week ago I got an email from GEPIK coordinators (in English) that sent out an
official GEPIK statement saying they will stop hiring from Oct to Dec, but if you signed a contract
already, it will be honored for the 1 year term and nobody has to worry about getting terminated
in the middle of the contract.

Now I just got a phone call from my CT a few minutes ago and she told me the GPOE called her and
told her they don't know anymore if they can send funding to our school.  So the Principal has to
scrap my 1 yr contract and make a new one tomorrow to last until December instead of the full year
at next September.   But, if the GPOE sends money after December, then my contract will go back to
September???

Has anyone else just received this news (or probably will in the next couple days)?  What happened
to this "promise" just a few days ago that contracts wouldn't be terminated in the middle of the term
but be honored for the full 1 year?

I'm not worried about the job really, that's not the issue that bothers me (I can find jobs plenty anywhere
else).  What bothers me is nobody knows anything definite so I can't plan accordingly what to do for
December.   First my 1 yr contract is going to be scrapped and changed to a 4 month contract and then if
they get money after December, it'll be changed back to a 12 month contract?  What good is a contract for
then if it can constantly be changed at anytime numerous times?   So I can't exactly do anything until December
by which that time I will suddenly be terminated or suddenly be extended for 8 more months lol.

What a rollercoaster.

Wow!  Interesting.

If it was me then I would not re-sign a new contract, especially when you feel secure about getting another job.  Instead I would let them go through the process of 'officially' winding down the current contract, i.e. giving you a month's notice.  They might not want to do that, in which case it becomes a game of brinkmanship.

Frankly speaking, if they know they are going to run out of money at the end of December then they should give you notice at the end of November, then they don't need to mess about with the contracts (especially right now, as it's comparatively early).

I also heard a rumor that many GPOE funded schools will not having funding starting in January.  But no confirmation on that. 

To be fair, I think the Coordinators were referring to any contracts that are currently under way. 

The exact same thing happend to me as the OP...my school is funded by the city and the city said if the GPOE stops the program they will also....my contract expires mid-Aug and my school has the funds to keep me through Febrary...but they won't find out if they'll receive funds to keep me beyong February until September...I have to return home next summer for certification exams and stuff and dont want to be stuck here until March 2013 if I end up going to a new school in March 2012 so I applied to different provinces and got an offer in less than a week and I have 2 interviews in Gangnam tomorrow...there are other jobs out there...don't stress out over this...just update that resume and hit the road.

Now that you put it that way, I'm almost 100% sure, "maybe" means "no more funding after December".  I think they just want to give me a little "false hope".  Why else would my school go through the trouble of making a new contract after I just signed one a month ago?  Yeah, I know there's lots of other jobs available both public schools and hagwons, but still sucks to be put in a situation like this where they can't tell you YES or NO, so I'm stuck in limbo.  And if I get good news in December that they can carry on the contract til next september (as in the original contract), then I'll feel like they made me worry for 4 months for no reason.   I almost think it'd be better for them to just tell me all this in November or December instead of 5 months before.   

GEPIK has significantly cut the number of foreign teachers from their roster. They used to be the number one employer of English teachers in Korea, at least in the public sector. There is a new president of GEPIK and he has proposed some new ideas such as providing all kids with free lunch, and is taking money away from the native speaker program. There is virtually no money left in the program from GEPIK. The schools that continue to have the native speaker program are getting the money either privately or from their municipality.

To the OP, if the town you live in decides to continue supporting the native speaker program, you should be able to complete your contract. That's where they would get the money from, and it sounds like they're unsure if they will get it or not at this point.

GEPIK can send out notices but do they have any legal standing? Do GEPIK notices count at Labor or in court if a school decides to ignore the GEPIK notice? Think about that.

I was just informed to look for a new job as all contracts have been scrapped  :o
I already signed the intent to renew ...

Apparently the government (or GPOE or something) has stopped all contracts. This was from my co-teacher.

Now I am looking frantically for a new job.

This is not how I imagined my summer vacation  :(

I was just informed to look for a new job as all contracts have been scrapped  :o
I already signed the intent to renew ...

Apparently the government (or GPOE or something) has stopped all contracts. This was from my co-teacher.

Now I am looking frantically for a new job.

This is not how I imagined my summer vacation  :(

Are you sure? This sounds like more bad news.

I was just informed to look for a new job as all contracts have been scrapped  :o
I already signed the intent to renew ...

Apparently the government (or GPOE or something) has stopped all contracts. This was from my co-teacher.

Now I am looking frantically for a new job.

This is not how I imagined my summer vacation  :(

Are you sure? This sounds like more bad news.

yeah Lacyfan...

This is what my co-teacher messaged me this morning. I can finish out the current contract and then it's bye-bye...

I am looking now at jobs in Seoul (SMOE) or EPIK or even private schools/companies or anything actually... I am not ready to leave.

This was a sudden change she said... she told me on Monday that it's still uncertain but it's 80% I will stay at my current school... today - she drops this little bomb... nasty!

I hope other teachers are OK??? Good luck all! I will pray for us all ^_^

There is a new president of GEPIK and he has proposed some new ideas such as providing all kids with free lunch, and is taking money away from the native speaker program.

I think you mean "new president of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education (GPOE)." GEPIK is a branch of the GPOE and only manages issues related to English education.

Apparently the government (or GPOE or something) has stopped all contracts.

The foreign teacher position at a good percentage of public schools in the Gyeonggi Province are partially funded by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education (GPOE). If you recall, back in May, the GPOE implemented a GEPIK hiring/renewal freeze to expire at the end of August. Then, recently, the GPOE submitted a budget request for the second half of the school year (mid-August through February). The Gyeonggi Provincial Council (GPC) rejected the foreign teacher portion of the request. This means no schools will receive funds from the GPOE for the second half of the school year. In response, the GPOE implemented a second hiring/renewal freeze to start in October and end at the end of February.

This question which remained in the air was about existing teachers and September renewals. My co-teacher received a document from the GPOE which states September renewals are at the discretion of the school. However, the schools will not be receiving the provincial portion of the budget for the position. Hence, if the schools decide to renew the teachers, they must find a way to fund the position without provincial help. This is why many teachers who have signed intent to renew and/or had signed and countersigned contracts, like myself, were informed that they couldn't be renewed. The schools simply cannot afford to pay our salaries and other benefits.

It will not be surprising to hear about teachers being let go mid-contract in October and on because of budget shortfalls. And, it seems the GPC's idea of "long term reduction in foreign teachers" means "tomorrow."

I hope this doesn't happen all over GEPIK.

I hope this doesn't happen all over GEPIK.

Public schools in Gyeonggi Province which have foreign teachers position that are not funded by the province (i.e., schools funded by the local municipalities) should be mostly unaffected by the cuts.

I hope this doesn't happen all over GEPIK.

Public schools in Gyeonggi Province which have foreign teachers position that are not funded by the province (i.e., schools funded by the local municipalities) should be mostly unaffected by the cuts.

Which schools are those? The private schools?