I do... like my passport, I am legally required to hold onto it. If your school makes a fuss, ditch the school - it means they're not too trustworthy.

If you honestly meant to spell "drawer" and spelled it "droor" you shouldn't have an "experts" certificate for teaching English anyway.

ALWAYS hold onto your FEC, Passport, Work Permit, etc.  Legally you should have these in your possession at all times (in case you get asked for it) - it even says so on the first page of the document.  You did the right thing.

Schools and/or companies will try to hold on to them as a form of leverage which they have no right to do.

It's my right, as a holder of a foreign experts certificate (now literally!), to spell drawer however I want. Get out of my face, bro.

What are the reasons that a school provides for holding onto something that -- by law -- a foreigner should carry at all times anyway ? Certainly, there are always sneaky, alterior motives within the operations of a Chinese-run language school, but this one, I've yet to figure out. I remember my last school wouldn't even let me hold onto it. "We must hold to it for safe keeping," or "We can't risk you losing it!" and other crap like this was common to hear anytime I brought up that I should hold onto it.

What do the schools benefit from holding onto this document ? Even if we do a mid-night run, they can still cancel it, so -- I dunno -- I guess it's just a control thing.

If you don't know that you are legally required to have it, and they can goad you into believing it, then you are open to other forms of manipulation and intimidation.  If they can convince you to give up your FEC, and your passport, then they can sell you a bridge somewhere as well. If, OTOH, they can't convince you, then they know they'll have a tough time selling you on other things.

The main reason they want to get this (or other things like your passport, etc..) from you is for blackmail.  If the school demands this, that means they will most likely turn out to break your contract and generally be a nightmare to work with.  Then when you tell them you are leaving, they will refuse to return your documents until you pay them, or whatever else they can think of.  If you go to the police, you will normally find that they have been paid to look the other way.

So the simple rule of thumb is, give them nothing but copies.  This includes any original documents whatsoever.  I know folks who have surrendered their passports, work permits, FEC's and even diplomas.  All of them regretted it.

The college has my FEC. After they were done with paperwork, they returned my passport and they always pay me on time. I'm not going to worry about it since there aren't any problems.

I have always been given my FEC by my school  when it was renewed  so have no problems with them as the law states you must carry at all time in case you are asked for your documents, never have been asked.
The school has copies of all my documents and I have the originals  and that is cool with them, also less hassle for them  as if I was to need my documents in a hurry it would mean getting some to the school to get them out

My school has my FEC and i have no problems. I have copies of my FEC. I have no problem because i get paid on time and the school really likes me. they are even giving me gifts so i will stay for another year. You should NEVER give anyone your passport to keep. I only gave the school my passport so they can get my passport and FEC and then they gave it back. I trust my school because it is very big and they have many sister schools with forigners. Even my chinese friends know of this school. The only time someone will ask to see your FEC is when the government comes in and checks the school (i know and i have seen this happen) and the school can show them your FEC. Hopefully your FEC occupation says an Engilish Teacher, because that is only when you can legally teach in China. If your FEC says a consultant or anything else, then pray the government doesn't come in and check your school because you can get in trouble because you can not legally teach with a FEC as a consultant. I have seen this happen to friends who worked at schools because thier school didn't have an education license or approval to hire a foreign english teacher. And lets be honest, how many foriegners carry their passports or FECs with them.