Job Discussion Forums

[JonathanMarinus]

Hi Everyone,

What is the working environment like at the Higher College of Technology in Sharjah? What are the staff like? Management? There's a role available there as a Teacher Mentor with the MAG program. Any advice or information would be gratefully received!

Plus, what is Sharjah like as a place to live and work?

[younggeorge]

No-one seems keen to answer this so I'll have a go. If you do searches here for Sharjah HCT and MAG, you'll see that neither comes up smelling of roses. But remember it's generally people with something to complain about who post on here: the contented ones just tend to get on with their lives.

MAG first: the posts here give the impression the whole project's a disaster. At the higher levels, it certainly leaves a lot to be desired, but for teacher mentors, a lot depends on the school you're in. The way the program was introduced led to a lot of resentment, but in schools where the principal and staff got over that, there's a lot of good work going on. Interference from above can make life difficult but people find ways to deal with it.

Now, what would a teacher mentor be doing at Sharjah HCT? Normally, they work in primary or secondary schools, helping to develop the skills of 'local' (mostly North African, Jordanian and Syrian) teachers. Presumably, at the HCT you'd be working with trainee teachers.

Sharjah HCT has a reputation as the toughest HCT college to work in, mainly because of its, shall we say, 'idiosyncratic' Director. He certainly does dominate the college, but your day-to-day life will be much more influenced by your colleagues in the Education Department who, I think, you will find to combine the expected dedication very effectively with normality and good humour.

Sharjah as a place to live? Pretty good except for the traffic. You can get everything you need there, except alcohol - and there are ways around that - and prices are noticeably lower than in Dubai . The college provides good accommodation and generally looks after you pretty well.

When does the position start? HCT staff are supposed to be back already and you're missing the new teachers' orientation: I presume MAG has something planned for you, though given their apparent lack of organisation, I wouldn't count on it.

I hope that's helpful and not too late for you. Good luck!

[Afra]

This might be of interest . . . but could they claim otherwise?

http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Education/10238098.html

[Zoot]

MAG stands for the Madares Al Ghad program which is run by the MoE, i.e., it's the PPP of the Ministry of Education. HCT on the other hand is the Higher Colleges of Technology, which is responsible for the administrivia of the MAG. You wouldn't be likely to be working for HCT on the MAG program. And if you read all the threads on this site about MAG, you'll also see they're not a group that has it together, at all. It'll likely become just another ME off-shoot of the MoE as they way they treat their staff is pretty much tolerated only by ME teachers

[boondoggle]