In my ebook I wrote about Nova being a great school to start out with but not stay with.

Why is because they set you up with a working visa, place to live and some money. Also, working for them will give you the teaching Experience you’ll need to land a much better job.

The following was written by Greg a student of mine that is doing VERY well now teaching in Japan.

Nova is the biggest English school, or “eikaiwa,” in Japan. Everybody knows them, some love them and some hate them. Nova’s in the news now because of a little scandal, and it’s hurting their business big time.

The Big Rip-off!

Here’s the way the Nova system works. Students get a free trial lesson, and if they decide to sign up, they buy tickets. Now, these tickets don’t come in small packages. You can’t just buy a week’s worth of lessons at a time, or even a month’s worth. You have to buy bulk. Some students buy years’ worth of tickets, because they offer special discounts when you buy more.

The only problem is that these tickets come with expiration dates. If you don’t get all of your lessons in during the allotted time, the tickets are no good.

Nova’s been having hard times lately. A few years ago, they boasted that they had never closed a branch down. I knew of a branch near Chiba Station that had no students! Supposedly they kept one teacher there all the time, doing nothing. But, the point was, they never closed a branch!

Well, times have changed and they’ve begun closing branches. They also haven’t been hiring as many teachers in recent years. This is due in part to the recession that everybody in Japan feels.

So, the problem is that lots of Nova’s students haven’t been able to book lessons when they want to, because there aren’t as many teachers available. The result is, their tickets expire.

A few years ago, some students started complaining about this. Then, every year the number of complaints grew. Now, it’s skyrocketing! There have been so many complaints that the government has stepped in.

Nova is supposed to reimburse those unused tickets, but they charge a bunch of fees, give students the runaround, and sometimes just don’t reimburse them at all. The courts ordered Nova to start reimbursing them, and Nova complied with the ruling… sometimes.

Well, the situation went from bad to worse and finally the government stepped in. Nova has to entirely change its policy, or suffer the consequences.

The Future Of Nova

It may be that Nova’s days as eikaiwa top dog are numbered. On the other hand, they might just bounce back unscathed as they’ve done before.

Some teachers who work for Nova think it’s slavery, and complain that they have to be salesmen all the time instead of teachers. Some will tell you that Nova’s the pits in terms of teaching in Japan. But, one of its good points is that it’s been the vehicle for lots of teachers to get over here to Japan. After all, they have always been the biggest employer of native teachers, and the biggest visa hander-out.

There’s one thing that’s for certain… You won’t see so many of Nova’s pink bunny mascot dolls around anymore!

Well Nova was taken over by another Big English school so now I still feel it’s a good place to start if you do not plan to stay AND they’re hiring.