Job Discussion Forums

[sticksnstones]

A few people I know who are working on MOHE contracts were given new contracts to sign a few month ago. Some of the those people who were gullible enough to sign the new contracts have been given notices from the ministry to resign their contracts, forfeit their gratuity for the year plus whatever odd months if they arrived after September and be quiet about it or they would not work in Oman again. This is extortion in most civilized countries and I thought people may want to know.

[jdl]

Were these contracts with MoHE or with a contractor? Very odd that contractees would be dismissed under the conditions of a newly signed contract. Seems more efficient and less legally challenging just to let the existing contract expire. Are contracts 'time specific' or ongoing? The rule of law does apply in Oman and contracts have legitimacy so the specifics are important. Very interesting legal issue which will test logic.

[veiledsentiments]

I suspect that we are missing many details here.

VS

[sticksnstones]

They are ministry contracts. I don't know much else, other than the persons involved are seeking legal counsel. I do suspect that these will not be the last such cases as the ministry seems to be terminating Western teachers on ministry contracts and keeping on non-native speakers from Arab countries. This post is for the benefit of those who may be offered contracts by the ministry-they are solely for the purpose of pocketing the money owed for your last year of service-don't sign them and if you want to keep your money-avoid the ministry altogether.

[jdl]

I guess the next questions would be,

1. Are the contracts (new/old) different in content? What are the differences specific to the termination action?.
2. Was the original contract time specific/term or ongoing?
3. Why was it required to sign a new contract? What was the reason given?

The ministry has very strict rules for termination and compensation; that is one of the primary reasons Ministries have gone to contractors. Civil service jobs are so secure for the most part. This is very interesting.

[jdl]

How does signing a new contract affect the superannuation of Ministry employees? Again there are very specific regulations regarding superannuation which must be followed. Granted, the 'pay out' may be a very slow (up to 1 year) and frustrating experience but the 'pay out' is made.

[jdl]

The following link may be helpful.

http://www.omanet.om/english/government/labour.asp?cat=gov

[kuberkat]

The most objective formulation I can come up with is this:

Ministry employees were transferred to two-year Civil Service contracts early in 2009 in a unilateral and retroactive action by the MoHE. Since this took place in the middle of a one-year contract, staff have the option of either staying for a second unplanned year or breaking the contract and forfeiting their gratuity.

My subjective view is that the powers that be in the MoHE truly do not comprehend that good education depends on finding and keeping good teachers, which in turn depends on treating them as invaluable resources rather than disposable objects. Until they realize that, revolving door recruitment will continue.

[jdl]

Do you predict that all ministry (MoHE, MoM, etc,) instructor positions will be filled by contractors on a 1 to 2 year contract basis in the future, with the exception of Omani Nationals who will be given Civil Service status?

[kuberkat]

Fact: a forward-thinking attempt to improve the quality of recruitment and staff retention by inviting all the best teachers to a more lucrative 2-year MoHE contract was thwarted by a decision on high. A small handful of people are bravely trying to make things better, but they face battles at every turn.

[jdl]

Does more money equal better teachers/teaching? How does one guard against the 'scam' segment of the teacher pool whose career is chasing the lucrative contract (Sohar thread). Can more money possibly equal more incompetence?
If meritorious teachers are to be rewarded how is this merit determined?.... higher pass rates, better TOEFL scores? using the existing evaluation procedures and instruments. A very exciting proposition...merit pay.

[jdl]

I wonder what VS has to say on the topic of 'merit pay'?

[kuberkat]

Very interesting proposition indeed. In any other industry this seems the obvious, so why not education? Wonder how that would wash with the powers that be, though. The process of getting clearance to pay MoHE HODs and national coordinators a monthly stipend has been months in the making, and success is still not guaranteed.

[johnslat]

Merit pay is currently a subject of much debate in the States, with teacher unions tending to be against it.
While it can seem a very attractive notion, the devil is mainly in this detail:

How would "teacher merit" be evaluated?

Some pros and some cons (some of these relate more specifically to American schools)

Pros:
1. Most professions offer bonuses and salary increases to exemplary employees. Why should teaching be the exception? The fact that a sloppy teacher and a dedicated teacher earn the same salary just doesn�t sit right with most people.
2. Incentivized teachers will work harder and produce better results. What motivation do teachers currently have to go above and beyond the job's basic requirements? The simple possibility of extra cash would most likely translate into smarter teaching and better results for our children.
3. Merit Pay programs will help recruit and retain the brightest minds. It�s the odd teacher who hasn�t considered leaving the classroom and entering the corporate workplace for the twin benefits of less hassle and more money potential. Particularly intelligent and effective teachers might reconsider leaving the profession if they felt that their extraordinary efforts were being recognized in their paychecks.
4. Teachers are already underpaid. Merit Pay would help address this injustice. Teaching is due for a renaissance of respect in this country. How better to reflect the esteemed way we feel about educators than through paying them more? And the highest performing teachers should be first in line for this financial recognition.
5. We are in the middle of a teaching shortage. Merit pay would inspire potential teachers to give the profession more consideration as a viable career choice, rather than a personal sacrifice for the higher good. By tying teaching salaries to performance, the profession would look more modern and credible, thus attracting young college graduates to the classroom.
6. With schools in crisis, shouldn�t we be open to trying almost anything new in the hopes of making a change? If the old ways of running schools and motivating teachers aren�t working, perhaps it�s time to think outside of the box and try Merit Pay. In a time of crisis, no valid ideas should be quickly denied as possible solution.

CONS:
1. Virtually everyone agrees that designing and monitoring a Merit Pay program would be a bureaucratic nightmare of almost epic proportions. Many major questions would have to be adequately answered before educators could even consider implementing Merit Pay for teachers. Such deliberations would inevitably take away from our real goal which is to focus on the students and give them the best education possible.
2. Good will and cooperation between teachers will be compromised. In places that have previously tried variations of Merit Pay, the results have often been unpleasant and counter-productive competition between teachers. Where teachers once worked as a team and shared solutions cooperatively, Merit Pay can make teachers adopt a more �I�m out for myself only� attitude. This would be disastrous for our students, no doubt.
3. Success is difficult, if not impossible, to define and measure. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has already proven how the various unleveled playing fields in the education system inherently set up a wide variety of standards and expectations. Consider the diverse needs of English Language Learners, Special Education Students, and low income neighborhoods, and you�ll see why it would be opening a messy can of worms to define standards of success for schools when the stakes are cash in the pockets of real teachers.
4, Opponents to Merit Pay argue that a better solution to the current educational crisis is to pay all teachers more. Rather than design and regulate a messy Merit Pay program, why not simply pay teachers what they are already worth?
5. High-stakes Merit Pay systems would inevitably encourage dishonesty and corruption. Educators would be financially motivated to lie about testing and results. Teachers might have legitimate suspicions of principal favoritism. Complaints and lawsuits would abound. Again, all of these messy morality issues serve only to distract from the needs of our students who simply need our energies and attentions to learn to read and success in the world.

Regards,
John

[kuberkat]

Well, johnslat, that response certainly deserves a gold star, if not merit pay proper. How do ELT pros in Oman feel about this? And would it be considered by employers?

Merit pay for doing an excellent job may be debatable, but under current policies MoHE staff receive no extra pay even for curriculum development, assessment creation or coordination duties, often in addition to a full teaching load. Once again, some of the greater minds in the Muscat bureau are trying to get lower teaching hours and more pay for these people, who are basically driving the national tertiary English programme. After one year, there are still no official concessions.