Job Discussion Forums

[saudi-esl-lecturer]

Am new to ESL and have been offered a position with CECNE to work at a university. Does anyone have any thoughts or experiences with this company?

[veiledsentiments]

With which Ministry and which university in which city?

VS

[saudi-esl-lecturer]

Ministry of Manpower and Al Musanna.

[saudi-esl-lecturer]

Thanks, VS.

[veiledsentiments]

Have you done a search on al-Musanna? (try different spelling variations and choose "search for all terms") It has had lots of problems over the years. Since the situation varies in these colleges in the hinterlands, that is why I asked for the city. Hopefully someone will show up with current details for you.

VS

[Gazoo1000]

I worked for CECNE for several years in Oman.

They pay on time and are competent in this way. However, if you not renew your contract they will not pay you your end of contract completion bonus. They only pay bonuses when teachers have left the country.

Thus, once you leave and they do not pay you, you have no recourse. There is a website about this at: http://cecne.co/

[MuscatGary]

It's not a University, it's a College of Technology located about an hours drive from the capital. You will be teaching about twenty hours a week to large classes who have learnt very little at school and who generally have no interest in learning at the College but are being paid a stipend to atend. If you need to save money then it's ok.

[veiledsentiments]

You have to remember that large numbers of us consider the terms college and university to be nearly interchangeable for a 4 year tertiary degree. It is really moot since all that matters is how Oman considers it. Fortunately few, if any, of the students will ever study anywhere other than Oman.

VS

[MuscatGary]

I know that in the US the terms are interchangeable but for me a University is a place where students 'study' independently and where academics do research as well as teach. Neither of these cases apply in the Colleges of Applied Sciences in Oman. The students are really pupils who are just taught endlessly and try to memorise information that they don't understand. People who are called lecturers are really teachers with 20 hours pw contact time and with no dedicated research time. Many Americans arrive believing they are going to work in a University style environment and are shocked when the truth becomes apparent. This is why I point it out then informed choices can be made based on the reality. As I've said before Oman is a nice enough place but can be frustrating if you come here under the wrong assumptions.

[veiledsentiments]

Most newbie Americans are merely confused if you try to muddy the water with your personal interpretation of the college/university terminology. Better to just inform them of the realities of the universities in the Middle East... that the majority of students are not university material, but the government institutions take them anyway. This is true in every Gulf country and nearly every "university."

VS

[Tazz]

Besides the crass nature of the institute/ students-look very carefully at the town itself before committing to any contract-many MOM positions in the interior should be considered 'hardship postings' given the spartan nature of the towns in the desert......ask yourself this-at the end of the day, or the weekend-where are you going to go to unwind or get away from the monotonous grind of the college itself?

[MuscatGary]

[Tazz]

Interesting to know this college is so close to Muscat-would a daily commute be feasible?

[MuscatGary]

[CVN-76]

I've heard there's a new person in charge of CECN, Muscat. Somebody who knows what she's doing. She should be able to make this a good agency to go with.