Parents ask why teacher banned in Canada over sex scandal is in China

Chinese parents and netizens are questioning the standards and requirements to recruit foreign teachers in China after media reports revealed that an English language teacher from Canada had previously been accused of sexual misconduct with three teenaged pupils in Canada.

Robert John Robertson, 66, resigned from his job at the expensive Huijia Private School in Beijing's Changping district after a WeChat post of a Vancouver Sun report went viral on Thursday.

The report revealed that Robertson was stripped of his teaching credentials in 2016 by British Colombia's Teacher Regulation Branch, based on allegations he had sex with three students aged 15 and 16 while employed by the Richmond School Board between 1974 and 1976.

The WeChat post triggered great controversy, with most parents and netizens questioning the standards and requirements to recruit foreign teachers in China, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Sunday. The WeChat post cannot be found online as of press time.

Huijia School announced on its website Friday that the school had conducted strict background checks before Robertson was hired and he had had offered all relevant materials including a clean criminal background check.

The school noted that in a check in 2017, Robertson had no criminal record based on evidence offered by Canadian police.

Robertson said that although he believes he is innocent, the news report had brought a negative influence on the school, so he had decided to resign, according to the school's website.

A teacher of English from the UK, who is now working in an international school in Beijing, told the Global Times that she found the requirements to work as an English teacher in China are quite relaxed, but that all foreign teachers have to provide a criminal record check notarized by the British foreign office to prove it is valid.