Job Discussion Forums

[hocus pocus]

****shedding tears of joy****

I'm not alone!

[AbeCross]

The unprofessional work environment at Shabaka is entirely the fault of its egregious management. Cronyism has been a problem there for years, and it will continue to flourish as long as the hopelessly benighted hockey guru and his cohorts are in charge. Two kinds of employees do very well there: hockey players and bootlickers. If you focus on teaching and doing your job in a professional manner, you will not fit in well with Shabaka and are likely to join the vast majority that are dismissed after every academic year. Turnover among hockey players and the unlettered, however, is at or near zero percent.

[ExpatinTown]

From what you can see, nothing is secure even if you have a contract. For those arriving on business visas, beware. If they decide you don't fit in (without any consideration of your teaching ability), you may see yourself getting driven across a border sooner rather than later.

[hocus pocus]

Whenever posters say anything negative about this place, supporters come in and insult people - they do this to get threads deleted or locked.

Kinda brilliant. Why not spend their brilliance on teaching and admin? Maybe there's just not that much brilliance to be spared and it has to be parsed out in ways to protect their jobs.

[Grendal]

No comment.....

All is said.....

I used to work there and I do agree Al Hasa is a great small town. We loved it there, but were not loved in return. If you decide to work at KFU (love those acronyms) then do your job and try to fit in as much as possible. Try not to polarize yourself with the admin. staff. No matter what don't dis hockey.

G

[hocus pocus]

[plumpy nut]

I must assume the November 3 issue looming in the KSA somehow isn't going to affect teachers. If they go after the teachers somehow, doesn't the companies that bring them in get fined also?

[hocus pocus]

[Ace of Spades]

Blah, blah, blah! The same stuff over and over again.

1. Why wouldn't Shabaka embrace wasta? I don't know the ins and outs much yet, but we are in a country that operates in such a manner, so to not use it would just seem odd. If this is how things work here, then that's how companies are going to operate. This isn't a land of reason or fairness. You're not in Kansas anymore, people. Oh wait, you're not even at Shabaka anymore, are you?

2. I'm tired of reading slams on teachers who come in on business visas. I am a d@*! good teacher and have lots of proof of it. No, I don't have a Master's in TESOL, but I've seen plenty of teachers who have the "proper" qualifications who are just bad teachers. It's less to do with your exact degree and more to do with your ability. Get over the business visa thing.

I do agree that Shabaka does have a lot of potential.

Peace out

[dr. caligari]

This stuff regularly happens in universities in the US. Before you have tenure, look out. It's truly organized crime.

[myohmy]

Ace of Spades, I think I love you.

[AJ88]

[nomad soul]

[hocus pocus]

Many of us can't enjoy the 4 day weekend(a trip to Bahrain) - why?

So much wasta that some have been waiting for new Iqamas for nearly 4 weeks. Don't blame everything on the government. It's just the poor admin again. Some of those on Business visas can go this weekend.

Also, I never disparaged the teaching ability of those on Business Visas. It was more of an indictment of Shabaka's efforts to subvert the Saudi government regulations and that those on Business visas DO NOT enjoy the same protections as those on proper employment visas. For instance, MEDGULF(the insurance provider) could refuse coverage if they found out about someone on a Business visa. Look in the fine print. Admin will tell you not to worry about it - they have Iqamas, so it's not their problem if you need urgent care and are denied.

[jaffa]