Job Discussion Forums

[Swift Turtle]

Dear Zaazia,

Thank you for your intimate post - very informative and deeply personal.

What a piss poor situation - going from not so good to worse. Morale is obviously extremely important for the advancement of any class and beyond.

Sounds like there were not enough teachers to cover the classes, so they combined them, and then not enough teachers to teach those classes, so they forced O/T. Was that the case? And, did you get compensated for it?

I kind of understand having some strict policy for attendance, but the tracking of such, as you described, is ridiculous. Don't they have student numbers? Log ins? Geez, even Japanese uncos would work better.

But, I'm concerned more about the "why" questions your asking, especially when you mention that you have "lead" teachers. What's the point of having "lead" teachers when they only seem to cover pee breaks? Shouldn't they be answering those "why" questions?

You mentioned that "cheating and plagiarism is rampant" - Unfortunately, given the state of college/uni systems and the availability of information online today this is not an isolated problem. All college/uni students today face the choice of cheating or not. It is impossible for lecturers in general to police all of their students. And because students are the ones that are paying for their education (or parents, or sponsors, etc.,), the repercussions are slim. After all, college/uni has become a business that can be consumed by anyone, and not a privilege available to those that learn and earn for it.

Another thing is that, photocopying is not necessarily a sign of a bad school. A lot of colleges/unis are going green, and it is just a sign of the times that teachers need to learn how to deliver their courses without the use of photocopying materials, e.g. get online copy writes or create and upload your own. It would be a bad school if students couldn't access teachers/lecturers online materials.

It's good that you are out of a 'toxic environment', but be aware that some of the problems that you mentioned at PNU exist elsewhere too.

Many cheers,

Swift Turtle

[zaazia]

Dear Swift Turtle

Yes my post about PNU was personal and that was what I intended.

With reference to what you termed 'concern' for my why questions. I have to tell you that lead teachers are only our line managers and would not be able to answer such questions since they do not have the authority to do so. Lead teachers have no say in matters , since decisions are made by upper(mostly Saudi) management. The type of climate in which PNU operates does not allow teachers to give feedback/constructive criticism or speak out because it is taken personally and teachers are sacked for speaking out.

I agree that cheating and plagiarism is a problem everywhere, but not on the scale of PNU. In the West you will not find a significant number of university students cheating or passing of others work as their own on such a large scale. I am talking about a significant number of mostly low level students simply copying their classmates work or going to Wikipedia and lifting an entry and passing it off as their own.

As for your comments on printing and photocopying I was not referring to making copies of worksheets or handouts for students. I am referring to not even being able to print vital documents. I agree that many institutions are 'going green' as you put it. This does not mean having a policy of absolutely zero printing or photocopying, but reducing printing and photocopying.

I am aware that some of the problems I outline in my post exist elsewhere but not on the scale of PNU. I know this because I have worked in institutions in the UK and the Middle East

[Cletus]

I have taught in the West and cheating is punished but in KSA it's rewarded by management. Students know this and so do seasoned teachers. New teachers often get burned out early when they don't realize they aren't being paid to teach but to babysit.

[Hatcher]

Saudi has no history of education... forget about research... they do have a long history of corruption. My boss stole a huge amount of the budget. To them, it isnt corruption but rather just sharing the oil money.

In terms of cheating and so on, give them 25 years. For now, you are in Saudi to get paid. If you are a serious teacher, never go there.

[myohmy]

"Swift Turtle", who is "soon to be in Saudi" is in for a rude awakening if he/she thinks that the problems in Saudi universities are being overly exaggerated by a few disgruntled teachers or that PNU is an exceptional case. He also appears ignorant of the fact that neither the students, nor their parents, pay a dime for their education and that they are actually given a stipend from the government to cover school expenses. This stipend is rarely used to buy books, paper and pens but rather junk food, sugary coffee and phone credit. The students refer to this stipend as their "salary".

Zaazia is not exaggerating. Everything she says is 100% true. I have worked at PNU for 2 years and had hoped to be here for another 3, but after the nonsense that has transpired this semester with the total lack of organization, competence and empathy coming from the administration I will gladly leave them to "educate" their immature and selfish little girls without my participation. Next year will see almost all newbies and then the crap will really hit the fan. This university is going down.

[buravirgil]

[plumpy nut]