Ask Headmaster Ken

Dear Ken

I recently arrived at this school and they processed my visa paperwork.
It appears they did everything legal and all, I have a Foreign Residence Sticker in my passport so that seems legit.

What I have a problem with is that they won't give me my Red Book. I actually saw my Red Book, the FAO let me see it when we collected it from some government office. The problem is the FAO says the school must keep it locked in the school safe.

I have read that I am supposed to carry this for identification and now I wonder if something shady is going on. The school treats me fine; it is just this Red Book thing that is bothering me.

What should I do? I was thinking of threatening them with resigning or going to the PSB or whoever. Is that a good idea?

This is an example of reality trumping regulation. You are technically supposed to carry the Red Book for identification. In reality virtually nobody does because your passport is what people want to see for proof positive identification.

What you do have a valid reason to have your hands on your Red Book for, is sending money home from a bank. Many banks require that you present your Red Book to wire money abroad.

Now, we should look as to the reason why your school wants to maintain custody of your Red Book.

Understand, the Red Book is the property of the school, you must return it upon your departure from the school's employ.

Long after your departure from the school, your school will still be audited by the local government offices. Many offices ask to see the Red Book of former FTs.

There have been cases where FTs have lost, or simply departed with their Red Books, thus giving schools a black eye when they undergo audits.

For this reason, some schools error on the side of caution and simply don't issue the Red Books to FTs.

I believe that this excess of caution can hurt a school's reputation among FTs, who assume something sinister may be afoot because the school is not in compliance with regulations.

The real issue is what to do about it. Each person has to pick and choose his battles with care.

If it is a really big deal for you, I'd suggest explaining to the school why you need your Red Book, (i.e., sending money abroad) and see if they will relent on this policy.

Reporting a school to the PSB over this has to be done with the understanding that this may well poison any possibility of a good working relationship in the future.

I would never discourage anyone from reporting a school to the PSB if they believe all else has failed and the situation is intolerable. In this case, you may want to consider if, in the big scheme of things, this is the issue you want to "fall on your sword" over.

As for threatening to resign, I'd caution against ever making a threat you were not fully prepared to carry out.

In the end, it's your call. My guess is that your FAO is simply being over zealous in protecting school property. How big of an issue this is to you is what should determine your decision.

Best of luck,

Ken