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"without having the sheepskin"
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Duffy



Joined: 29 Oct 2005
Posts: 449
Location: Oman

PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 6:42 pm    Post subject: "without having the sheepskin" Reply with quote

This very tactfully placed statement from another thread just about sums up what has been happening with the MoHE in the last few days.

A certain "PHd" in the English Department of one of the CoAS colleges was found not to have anything more than a fraud copy of that persons "BA" plus Degree mills of MA & Phd". That person was summarily fired.

However, this started a chain reaction of checking certification by all the other Ministries which led to other degree "discrepencies" being discovered.

ALL expatriate Ministry personell (regardless of nationality) are going to be subjected to a check on their qualifications.

ANY doubts and they will be offered "window or aisle seat"

This is serious, if anyone has gone down this road and found employment with any Omani Educational Ministry, expect a call from either your Dean or someone in Muscat.

Both CfTB and Hawthorn hires and others are being scrutinised for real qualifications. If you aint got them - bye bye, it is the big silver bird for you.


Duffy
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At The Crossroads



Joined: 16 Feb 2009
Posts: 9

PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 7:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Duffy--- Please tell it is not true that teachers had fake certificates and degrees!!!!! Are you serious?
I know when I worked in UAE, I had to get all my certs and degrees attested by Department of State. So, why hasn't Oman used the same procedure?
---ATC
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 7:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oman does use a similar procedure, but as I have been saying for years, "certification" of degrees does NOT guarantee that a person attended. The State Department does not now and never has checked with a university to prove that someone even attended, no less graduated.

The whole process is farce and always has been!! That is why intelligent employers like HCT insist on an actual transcript mailed from the university.

VS
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Duffy



Joined: 29 Oct 2005
Posts: 449
Location: Oman

PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 7:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is what is happening.

Even some "legitimate" degrees are in question. Nobody in the Ministries can confirm what is an " accredited" degree and what is not, simply because no-one there knows the difference because there is nom published list.

Just be ready for the next SNAFU from those who are, "nominally" in charge, but do not know what they are doing!!!


Oh, am I being too kind here??

Duffy
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Duffy



Joined: 29 Oct 2005
Posts: 449
Location: Oman

PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

VS,

Please post something positive or negative here. There are people in trouble. Do not take the high ground, I have friends, good teachers who, through no fault of their own are facing a long, cold winter.

I would never support falsifying certification, but there is a grey area that the Omani Ministries have turned a blind eye to, especially recruiters such as Abdul Majali. I have never denied that he recruited me, I have been and still am with the MoHE. Says something, says nothing!

I have personal experience of other "teachers" who have been taken on. My thoughts go to the College next door who has employed a person who I have seen copy some other persons certification and changed the name to his/hers.

That person knows what he/she has done but will never admit to the deed.
Only the students lose.
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 10:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Duffy wrote:
VS,

Please post something positive or negative here. There are people in trouble. Do not take the high ground, I have friends, good teachers who, through no fault of their own are facing a long, cold winter.

Sorry Duffy... this doesn't make sense to me. Positive or negative? Don't take the high ground? I have no idea what you want me or anyone to say.

They have a system that doesn't work and never has... and now the ministry doesn't know what to do I suppose. I could give a common sense answer on what they should do, but the chances of them listening is slim. (Give every teacher X number of months to have their universities send a transcript to prove their degrees) It is not the first time that Oman spread "punishment" for one person's 'crime' to others who had nothing to do with it.

Always sad for those who get caught up in it...

VS
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Duffy



Joined: 29 Oct 2005
Posts: 449
Location: Oman

PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 4:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

VS,

Excuse my ramblings in that earlirer post. l was and still am very upset that there are teachers, very good teachers, who are about to lose their jobs over this.

What makes me really angry is that there are other people who have a "legitimate" degree and are supposed to be native English speakers who just cannot teach. I am sure you and others have met them. I will not go into nationalities because someone will complain, but we know them.

'Tis a sad day for many.

Duffy Sad Sad
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Stephen Jones



Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124

PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 7:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So teachers who've faked their degrees are being fired. The only thing I'm sad about is that they are not being thrown into jail.
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Geronimo



Joined: 11 Apr 2007
Posts: 498

PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:55 am    Post subject: Verification of British degrees Reply with quote

The Open University Validation Services (OUVS) authenticates degrees awarded by British Institutes of Higher Education.

Their "verification application forms" are available via:-
http://www.open.ac.uk/validate/p4.shtml

Do other countries have a similar "degree verification" body?
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isabel



Joined: 07 Mar 2003
Posts: 510
Location: God's green earth

PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 6:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, it has happened with people I know in other countries where I have worked- getting good jobs with fake degrees that were never verified.

There is all this hassle with getting documents apostiled, sent to embassies, etc., and they are never checked out.

Then those of us with legit degrees but without Phd.s are paid considerably less than our colleagues with fake documents, including doctorates. I have known of people like this, and haven't ratted them out, but my heart doesn't break when, sometimes years later, they are found out.

On the other hand, I do agree that a higher degree doesn't necessarily make you a better teacher of English. I have known too many with real degrees who can't teach, and have the wrong dispositions for the field. The use of numbers of degrees as a sorting device for hiring is just lazy.

Too many places not only don't check out degrees, they don't check out letters and backgrounds. Then they wonder why they get drunken pedophiles with fake degrees (yes, I have had to work with one of those, too!).
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Sleepwalker



Joined: 02 Feb 2007
Posts: 454
Location: Reading the screen

PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 9:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have worked with people who have genuine degrees and and others who have falsified qualifications. Some can teach and others cannot.

That being said, there are rules set by Oman to try to set educational and experience standards for staff. If you start by lying about qualifications, you must anticipate being caught.

I would see this as a positive move and hope that the authorities extend the monitoring to private colleges - the students deserve teachers who have proper qualifications and experience - transcripts would be a start.

For non-native speakers, IELTS certification would be next.....
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jdl



Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Posts: 632
Location: cyberspace

PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 2:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Do keep us posted Duffy.
The annual last semester madness has begun; when rumours are rampant, credentials questioned, hit lists imagined and not, conspiracies developed and implemented and meat thrown into the water.....such entertainment! The Oman expat version of cabin fever. This year's edition seems to be a promising 'good show'. When will Dhofar U join the fray? Very little changes come September as all look forward to the new 'high season', a favourite chaise on the beach and renewing that gym membership at the Crown. A few good stories will be added to the oral history of the area and another cycle will have begun. Is anyone running a pool on terminations/retentions/runners etc.
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Pikgitina



Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 420
Location: KSA

PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The current recruitment freeze at institutions (probably other than SQU) I've heard of is probably also a result of this certification verification 'crisis'. Or it may be due to the ministry/-ies deciding how many teachers each recruiter gets to bring over (this probably happens every year). Or both.
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Duffy



Joined: 29 Oct 2005
Posts: 449
Location: Oman

PostPosted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 8:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jdl,

I personally know two of the teachers that will not return next year, so this fact, not rumour. The Ministry is not "sacking" them. Simply, their contracts are not being renewed in September, however they have been told it it because of the wrong kind of degree. Notice I wrote "wrong kind " and not fraudulent.

These "Life Experience" degrees are not actually illegal to own and as long as the person does not claim to be anything else, the onus is on the employer to validate said certifications.

My guess is that those affected will just move to another place/employer.

Duffy
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jdl



Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Posts: 632
Location: cyberspace

PostPosted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Duffy, Very odd. The 'wrong kind of degree" as in a M.A. in history rather than an M.A. in English for example? Oh well good luck to all. You are right. All will find employment...maybe just over the fence? Come September when the perennial teacher shortage occurs all may be forgotten. Must be more to this story if so few are not being invited back since the degrees of ESL ers are so varied with most potentially of the 'wrong kind'.

What is a life experience degree?
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