Job Discussion Forums

[nomad soul]

Oman grapples with severe shortage in number of teachers
By Tariq Ziad Al Haremi, Times of Oman | July 15, 2016
Source: http://timesofoman.com/article/88003/Oman/Education/Oman-grapples-with-severe-shortage-in-number-of-teachers:-Ministry-of-Education

MUSCAT: A shortage of teachers in the Sultanate is a cause for concern as there is roughly only one teacher for every 100 students, according to Ministry of Education’s statistics. Last month, the Shura Council held a meeting with the Minister of Education, Madiha Al Shaibani, where a member expressed his concern over the ‘excessive’ number of students in one class in a government school, which had 30 students per class.

The rapid increase of students and a high birth rate has triggered demand for more teachers to be hired in the education sector. According to Alpen Capital’s Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Education Sector Report 2016, it is forecast that there will be 1,115,486 students by 2020. In general, there will be a 3.6 per cent increase in the number of students in the GCC by 2020, which will jump from 12.6 million to 15 million. In terms of annualised growth during 2015 to 2020, the number of students in Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are projected to grow faster than the other member nations,” read the report.

However, in Oman (and the GCC), with the increased number of students and lack of schools, it is equally difficult to hire qualified teachers, especially nationals in private and international schools. “The shortage of teachers in the region is the second highest in the world due to an overall dearth of teachers globally, coupled with a low pool of nationals inclined towards pursuing teaching as a profession in the GCC,” the report emphasised. “Moreover, the dependence on expatriates, who are transient by nature, is further challenging this availability,” it added. The increase in the number of students would mean an increase in schools, as well as the need for more teachers in the Sultanate.

International and private schools are also gaining popularity among parents as more opt to send their children to these schools, considering its bilingual curriculum and high quality of education; and as students increase, more schools will be needed.

“Omani families continue to seek an education for their children, which will leave them bilingual and with an understanding of the international business culture, and the coping skills necessary to succeed in the global arena,” said Danny Harrison, chief executive officer of Al Omania Education Services. “The market needs are diverse, and whilst the number of bilingual international school models are growing and attracting investment, there is also expansion in the purely foreign curriculum schools. Consequently, there is a lot of jostling for market share and the schools that consistently deliver quality education will enjoy long term fruits. On the flip side, the region has seen the demise of a number of operators, who over-promise and under-deliver with catastrophic consequences,” he added.

(End of article)

[CVN-76]

The administrators and students should have been treating the native-speaking English teachers a lot better the past 20 years instead of taking them for granted and mistreating them. The slow dearth is because of teachers refusal to put up with the conditions in the ME. Not honoring teacher contracts, not listening to teachers about unruly students, and just plain ripping off teachers are all coming back to bite these whining schools in the rear end now. It's called Karma.

[Lord T]

An ex-colleague has just 'walked' from a job at Nizwa CAS, after just 3 weeks.

He said it simply isn't worth putting yourself through the b/s for such a small salary.

[madrileno]

Combined with the hiring/salary freezes at many colleges and ministries as a result of the oil crisis, this is going to be a perfect storm.

[nomad soul]

The article is about the increasing number of national and expat children at the k-12 levels. EFL teachers at the tertiary level represent a tiny drop in the bucket in terms of teachers across all disciplines and levels.

[Tazz]

The salary was never a problem for me, it was the utter tedium of staying in an Omani interior town combined with the difficulty faced in attempting to communicate with a 'mixed' gender class of 18-19 year olds who typically didn't want to be there, [the males] or didn't want to be in a classroom with the males, [the females]. The brainless futility of working in this hell eventually persuaded me to leave, after 3 years. Many native speakers came and went during the time I was there.....

[EFL Educator]

I do remember the Ibri College of Technology always had a shortage of native English teachers when I was there...me thinks it was due to the Indians and Arabs that ran the place who preferred non-native speakers,,,,,as well as the strange species of EFL teacher that hanged out at the Ibri Hotel Waterhole who scared them away!!!

[Lord T]

[Tazz]

'teachers that hanged out'......god help the students back then!

[AmericanAmina]

I'm an American living in the UAE right now but looking to move next fall. I want to find a university teaching job preferably, foundation year or otherwise. I have a BA in English, and my MA in TESOL will be complete by spring, and I have some teaching experience but not at the university level.

I'm curious about life in Oman and what my teaching prospects there would be. What's the word on the streets? Are the universities hiring? Or just complaining about a lack of teachers...?

I don't mind living in small towns. I usually prefer it actually. I've heard the climate is greener and cooler in Salalah, which sounds pretty appealing to me.

[Tazz]

You can get hired by a recruiting company-globnet, TATI, etc....but they are very strict regarding the 2 year College/ Uni experience rule.

[AmericanAmina]

Thanks Tazz. That's the same as here in UAE, except here it's 5 years experience... unless you have connections, then there's no experience required.

[balancedsentiments]

Following on from Nomad Soul's comment, before everyone gets carried away, please note that this is from the Ministry of Education, so it's about schools, NOT colleges or universities.

The colleges that are now CASs were originally teacher-training colleges at a time when there was a big push to get Omani teachers into the school system. A lot of the early graduates were rushed through to Diploma (foundation+2years) or Higher Diploma (foundation+3 years) level, as happened during the baby boom in lots of Western countries. A high degree of Omanisaton was reached, and most of the colleges were converted to CASs, with only Rustaq and SQU left, offering full B Ed programs.

The plan assumed that most teachers would stay in the system, but the attrition rate has been higher than expected, hence the shortfall. Watch this space.

[MuscatGary]

Note that Masters degrees are not recognised by the Ministry for salary purposes unless you have at least two years verifiable post-Masters experience. A newly minted Masters may get you the job but it won't get the extra dosh.

[AmericanAmina]