Job Discussion Forums

Justbecause · Joined: 30 Sep 2007 Posts: 18

What about a job in an international school somewhere? These schools usually pay better.

I would have thought that with all your qualifications you could have got alot more money.

mio · Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 8

I wouldn't recommend working at Al Maarifa. Teachers there aren't very happy and they're leaving all the time. Good luck with whatever you choose to do!

akolsky1 · Joined: 08 Mar 2009 Posts: 39 Location: Pennsylvania

I agree about the negative comment regarding Al Ma'arifa. They are not an employee friendly administration, the pay is EXTREMELY low compared to all the other "international" schools out there in the UAE, and they even hire teachers without College degrees which in my mind reeks of desperateness.

The only positive aspect was that I really liked the head administrator of the Primary section, she is a lovely lady who is also an accomplished teacher there for many, many yrs. Also I really liked the Executive Assistant to the school director. I have to mention that they were the most positive people and aspects of my stay. They should be praised and they are the best asset of the school.

But on the negative side--There is even a teacher there that has been getting away with bullying other teachers with no reprimanding from her supervisor. She does not even have a college degree, but still she works there. Just an unprofessional environment for professional educators who take their job seriously. It is too bad that they pay is so low and one has to put up a fight or beg to get reimbursed or if there are other financial issues the accountant does not even care about our situation. It is all about the business. I would avoid teaching here at all costs, unless you are not educated and need a job desperately in these financial times. They pay Western teachers more, but believe me that means that poor other nationality teachers get paid peanuts to what the school could afford. It does not even seem like the school director wants to be there let alone work there--so I do not know why the admin have such a negative outlook and treatment of the teachers. There is some corruption going on I suppose, from what I experienced there.