CBI Canadian Bilingual Institute in Bratislava, Slovakia (Slovak Republi

Phew! The Inspector is Mcknackered. Surely there can't be that many bad schools out there. Rest assured if you have been unfairly listed here then just drop a quick word in his ear.

CBI Canadian Bilingual Institute in Bratislava, Slovakia (Slovak Republic). This English school has the worst management, an incredibly greedy owner, and doesn't take care of its teachers.

Teachers are coaxed into signing a contract, then after they arrive (paying their own travel expenses) are told about other personal expenses, deductions, and work requirements that weren't in the contract and never mentioned during interviews (I even asked a direct question regarding some of the matters during an interview, and once I started working found out that I was lied to!).

They also think they are above the law - illegal contracts, screwing up people's visas, income tax problems, etc.

Terrible!

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Pamplona, Spain

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Kramar's School of English, Slovakia - Part 2

If ever there were a justification for the existence of The TEFL Blacklist this is yet another example. Read on................... - you can check out the original posting by clicking HERE.

This is one of Sandy's very early blacklistings and here we are nearly a year later (Sandy having reportedly been spotted in Japan, looking for a certain Canadian gentleman) and poor old Matthew wishing he'd done a swift Google on Boris.

Here's what Matthew has to say..........................

"I am not at all surprised Boris Kramar made it on this blacklist. I’m just pissed I didn’t think to Google “TEFL blacklist” before I fell for his crock of crap.

He screwed me. Things worked out because I had people in Slovakia, but if it hadn’t been for that, I’d have been up shit creek without a paddle.

He promised a visa, a job, a place to stay. He delivered nothing, and then promised to help me find alternate placement. After he dropped the initial bomb in my lap, he dropped off the scene, never to be heard of again.

Anything you hear about sexual harassment also, BELIEVE IT. He asked for pictures of my girlfriend, which just blew me away. He’s a dirty old man, and I’d only ever hope to meet him to kick him in the nuts for all the sorry lies he told me and my girlfriend’s family. I don’t like people lying to me or screwing with my future. God help him if he’d managed to get me there and teaching before I figured out he was a fake and a failure. He’s both–avoid him like the plague.

Also, a special note to my fellow Americans: he preys on us, because he knows we can’t pop over for a visit. STAY AWAY!!! If you want to teach in Slovakia that badly, go through the municipalities, or Dave’s ESL Cafe, or something reputable. Do not trust the Internet. Check around, and DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!

If he or anyone under any strange name shows up to deny these allegations, I’ve got contact info of reputable people in the area in Slovakia who will tell you just how unsavory a character he is.

Best wishes in your TEFL adventures!"

He advertises on TEFL.com and they are proud to publish his testimonial....................
"Many thanks for your great job you've been doing. Thanks to your pages I got a teacher last year and I've been very satisfied with him. Kramar's School of English, Slovakia. "

Do a quick Google and you'll see lots of other job boards advertising his posts.

So Sandy's original article is still around on Saint Sperling's. Well a leopard doesn't change its spots so Dave has presumably been too busy counting his money to notice that Sandy's old posting had slipped through his net.

The rock group "The WHO" must have had dear old Boris in mind when they recorded the song "Boris The Spider". Here it is, possibly not the greatest work of art but who (sic) cares.

Boris The Spider

Look, he's crawling up my wall
Black and hairy, very small
Now he's up above my head
Hanging by a little thread

Boris the spider
Creepy crawly creepy, crawly

Now he's dropped on to the floor
Heading for the bedroom door
Maybe he's as scared as me
Where's he gone now, I can't see

Boris the spider
Creepy crawly creepy, crawly

There he is wrapped in a ball
Doesn't seem to move at all
Perhaps he's dead, I'll just make sure
Pick this book up off the floor

Boris the spider
Creepy crawly creepy, crawly

He's come to a sticky end
Don't think he will ever mend
Never more will he crawl 'round
He's embedded in the ground

Boris the spider
Creepy crawly creepy, crawly

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Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Val Ferret, Switzerland

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Kramar's School of English, Slovakia

Hi Sandy,

I stumbled across your blog and how I wish I'd seen it, or something similar, this time last year.

I'd like to nominate for your blacklist, Kramar's School of English, in Zlate Moravce, Slovakia. Boris Kramar owner/director and all round nasty piece of work.

Hindsight being 20/20, I can see almost everything the man said to me, prior to arriving in Slovakia was a lie. I learned that lying is his primary idiom about everything.

The "flat" that he advertises as part of the teacher's benefits, could only generously be called a bed-sit. It is located in the basement of his mother-in-law's house one block from the school. Because of the proximity, there is no way to escape the man at the end of the work day or on the weekends.

He "provides" a cell phone, which he then uses to phone all hours of the day and night giving orders about all manner of things. He then expects the teacher to pay the cell bill that he runs up. He has telephones in every classroom and interupts classes to give instructions about minutia to all the teachers.

He had not done the paperwork for my work visa and instructed me to tell anyone who asked that I was "observing" his school as a part of a study I was making back home. (as I said, lying is his approach to everything) He is known to withhold salary from his female employees, to the point that they have to chase him down to get even a portion of their pay. I
received 10,000 SKK on the day that I arrived to buy groceries and then never received another cent in the two months before I left. When I left, he had some notion that I owed him money.

I've heard horror stories from others who have had the misfortune to stumble into this place. There is a thread (started by someone else) on teflwatch.com that gives other people's experiences as well. I'm glad to give more details as well.

The town of Zlate Moravce is lovely. Most of the people were absolutely fantastic. But Kramar makes it impossible to deal with the place. If your blog can help one poor unsuspecting English teacher miss the experience I had, you will have done a great thing.

Inspector McHammered of the Lard
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