The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has asked all Ghanaian teachers who plan to travel to China to teach to submit all the relevant documents to the Chinese embassy in Accra for authentication before travelling to that country.

The call, according to the teacher union, has become necessary following the deportation and detention of some South African teachers from China due to fake documents.

A statement signed by Afua Adoboe, Public Relations Officer of GNAT, on Tuesday, 2 April 2019, said: “The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) wishes to bring to the attention of its members who intend to travel to China to teach, to submit all relevant travelling documents to the Chinese Embassy in Accra for authentication.

“This directive has become necessary following the detention of over one hundred South African teachers and the deportation of fifteen others by Chinese immigration officers in December 2018 for not possessing genuine travel documentation.

“Due to the high demand for English tutors in China, there has been an upsurge in the number of teachers from African countries who have travelled to China seeking to take advantage of that opportunity. However, the majority of them acquired their visas through agents who failed to provide them with genuine documents, thus, leading to their arrest and subsequent deportation.

“The need has arisen, therefore, to inform Ghanaian teachers with similar interest to be cautious about the necessity of submitting all relevant documents to the Chinese embassy in Accra for authentication before travelling.”