Job Discussion Forums

[Eric Carlson]

The starring cast of the college are a microcosm of unreality. I say this as the institutional, isolated community sharing the same bleak accommodation block is by and large self deluding. It is a college, but the people who teach there are �teachers� in only the broadest possible sense of the word. Few have teaching qualifications. Few have concrete academic qualifications. They are the flotsam and jetsam of the Gulf teaching world, washed up on the shores of Sohar. After one academic year or less they will drift away.

�Professionalism� is, however, the order of the day, with endless self-congratulatory discussions of the superiority of each individual. Teachers refer to each other as �Professional Colleagues�. Imagine a hospital in which the �doctors� vociferously blew their own trumpets. In reality their qualifications turn out to be limited to some weeks training in First Aid. Let me run through this point by point.

The contract is with Hawthorn Agency who recruit disposable �teachers� for the Ministry of Higher Education. Hawthorn receives a payment for each member of staff they recruit � therefore it is to their financial advantage to replace almost the entire staff annually, which they do. Employees are culled every few months, and the survivors lulled into a sense of false security until June, then dispensed with. The pay is reasonable, something in the region of 950 Omani Rial per month for a �teacher� with a Ba. The salary is tax free. They pay on time and do not cheat you financially. The final payment (�settlement�) is made 2 days before your flight departs, giving no time for complaints. You will not be informed of the exact amount until shortly before you receive it. You are given your return ticket at the airport before departure. Before you leave you must provide a certificate from the college to prove that you have not stolen or damaged anything, and a letter from the bank to prove that you do not have debts in Oman.

Accommodation is in separate one bedroom flats. The accommodation is of a quite good standard. Domestic bills are paid by Hawthorn. The majority of the accommodation is in one large housing block � therefore all the employees are living, literally, on top of one another. Malicious gossip gets out of hand. There are long, dark corridors with many identical doors, each door opening on a different psychiatric case. The block is 25km from the nearest large supermarket. You will need to rent a car, which costs 150 OR, that is 15% or more of your salary.

A wise move is not to take a credit card from the bank, and not to buy a new car. Credit for cars in Oman is easy. Car salesmen will tempt you with the latest 4 wheel drive. Don�t be tempted, and don�t listen to reassurances that your job is secure. It�s not. The best thing here is to aim for 1 academic year at work, saving as much as possible.

There are no criminal record checks and there is no attestation of academic certificates. Therefore the guy in the next flat might be a violent alcoholic with a long criminal record. The police in Oman will not intervene in disputes between Westerners. You are on your own if you have a problem, as nobody will help you. Regarding qualifications and training, many of the �Professional Colleagues�, have dubious certificates. The managers or �Coordinators� are promoted on who knows what basis from the rank and file of teachers. They invariably have no management experience or ability.

Work itself is a little confusing. You are working for the Ministry of Higher Education, who are keeping you at arms length through Hawthorn. We now enter a Disneyland of staff with weird and wonderful qualifications trying desperately to hang on to positions way beyond their abilities. The painfully obviously unqualified succeed in bluffing their way to ludicrous heights.

During the previous academic year induction week was bizarre, as only the new teachers were present, but no management or senior staff. Groups of bewildered and confused new employees wandered around college hoping for a sign, any indication of what to do, or where to go. It never came.
Things went downhill from there. �Good teachers stand at the front of the class and read through the book from A to B�, we were told. Don�t try anything different. If you work hard nobody will recognize this or praise you. If you don�t turn up at all, nobody will notice for a month. Holidays are numerous and again a little confusing. For example in January you should, in theory, be at work, but in practice many of the English department were in Bangkok. I�m not kidding.

As I said, it�s not a �real� job. Try it for a year, save as much as possible, and get out of there. �Ministry of Higher Education� should look good on your cv. Use it to find a better position.

[natureguy]

Eric, shame on you! I will not address your lengthy post with a point by point rebuttal but I do believe it's important for prospective teachers to have a clearer (shall we also say 'fairer'?) perspective on the teaching situation at Sohar College of Applied Sciences.

Yes, of course, the college administration is disorganized and often 'clueless' but this could certainly be said of the administration in English departments at many of the unis/schools in developing countries all over the planet. I know it was true in my own situations in Thailand and China. The important thing to remember when accepting a teaching position in the developing world is that one should not expect the same levels of organization/collaboration/transparency that exist in educational institutions in the Western world (and, of course, there is no perfect teaching situation even in one's own country.) What I will say is that the situation in Sohar is tolerable as I have survived 3 terms and have signed on for another year.

As for one's colleagues within the English Dept. (and, yes, I will use that term!), it is also a mixed bag. I do take exception with your generalization that teachers in the English Department at Sohar College of Applied Sciences have falsified credentials and are not qualified to teach within the Ministry of Higher Education system in Oman. While there have been isolated cases of teachers being 'sacked' due to falsified or unverifiable credentials either during the 3-month probationary period or at the end of their one-year contract, I believe this is the exception rather than the rule. For example I have an honours BA, 9-month university TESOL certification and a Master's in TESOL. There are many other teachers in the dept. with similar or superior qualifications. The fact that we continue on at the college in Sohar certainly doesn't make us somehow inferior to those that choose to leave. There are some very valuable life lessons to be learned from facing difficult challenges and conquering them.

As for the personality conflicts between a few of the teachers in the accommodation this year, I must agree that Hawthorne does a very poor job of checking both the personal and professional backgrounds of prospective candidates. Even so, most teachers get along remarkably well given the circumstances of working and living in close proximity to one another. I further must state that the number of teachers with serious psychological disorders (and I doubt, Eric, that either of us is qualified to pass judgment on an individual's sanity) is a small percentage. Yes, there are many teachers that deal with life in such a 'different' cultural environment by consuming far too much alcohol (I do not drink) but I do not see this as a problem unless they are causing insult or injury to others. It is my understanding that the only incidents of violence were perpetuated by a single individual. I certainly do not condone this type of behavior and believe this should have been dealt with swiftly by either the college admin. or Hawthorne.

In the future, please try to offer factual and useful information for teachers looking to relocate to Oman rather than hasty generalizations that attempt to paint all with the same brush.

[Mojoski]

Having most of the FTs in the same block sounds advantageous to me. Makes it simple when you want to socialize with your colleagues. You have your own flat, so you don't have to socialize, if you don't want to.

I agree with natureguy that it's better to focus on the good things about these overseas posts and go with the flow as much as possible in relation to the less auspicious factors. There is often legitimate cause for complaint, but doing so is much more likely to bring heat upon oneself than to instigate improvement.

I recall one time covering at a different center, and I asked the ADOS for a pen: "No, teachers nick them." Hmmm, seeing as how they expected me to fill in the class reports, you can see this was a rather unreasonable response. I could have said, 'I didn't know this was a bring your own pen party,' or 'then I'll need a P I N so I can write the reports in blood.' No, I begged one off the receptionists, which meant the two of them had to share one. (Actually, teachers do nick pens--usually unintentionally from forgetting to take them out of pockets before leaving work. There are better ways to augment salary than selling used bics on the corner.) I did understand the point, so I bit my tongue and just promised myself the next time she asked me for a zlot for the coffee machine, I'd say, 'no, ADOS's nick them.' Anyway, overall it was a fine place to work, and I had another anecdote to share with colleagues over the next beer.

[Geronimo]

The Communications Department of Sohar College of Applied Sciences
present a different view of the place to the one expressed in the OP.

The Communication Department's view is a more positive one...
http://soharcomm.blogspot.com/ Consider Alshihi's outlook, for example.
(Sur College's Communications Dept. has its blogspot, too...
http://www.surcommunication.blogspot.com/ )


For those teachers or lecturers considering Sohar as an option,
the MoHE's new CAS website has the lowdown
on the forthcoming CAS courses - click on 'Academic Programs';
including the Engineering one
lined up for a September start at Sohar College....
http://www.cas.edu.om/index.php/academicprograms/engineering/49-engineering

And, ( V.S. , please note ), there is now a direct online CAS application procedure -
http://www.cas.edu.om/index.php/component/content/article/9-academic-posts-available
with a Ministry email address for lecturerships....


Geronimo
(MOD edit for name)

[veiledsentiments]

That could be good news Geronimo, but I don't see ESL/EFL Lecturers on the page. So does that mean that they are sticking with the recruiters for them?

I noted that the page was last updated in March, '09...

VS

[Geronimo]

As I understand the situation, VS, the online application option
is open for all "Academic posts".
I regard this development as a step in the right direction.

It is even conceivable that an Induction Training Programme might be conceived and implemented one day, too.... ..... ... ......

Currently, however, Hawthorn Muscat are recruiting 'English Language Lecturers' for the Colleges of Applied Sciences
in Sohar, Rustaq and Sur, via an advert with a different contact email address.

Contrary to the expectations usually derived from the existence of a recruitment effort, though;
I'm informed that the Sohar English Department's
staffing allocation may be reduced for next year.
Perhaps a poster working at Sohar College
could confirm the score on departmental
staff re-allocations.

Interesting to note that German and, further down the line, Mandarin,
will be featuring in Sohar College's plans; as evidenced in the engineering degree course notes.
CLiL is definitely on the rise!

Geronimo

[Epicticus]

Eric Carlson, I couldn�t have described Sohar College better myself. For anyone even remotely contemplating working for that lunatic asylum headed by a clapped out, incompetent HOD, beware!!!
As for the salary and the housing their offering, I spit upon it. I�m now earning double that �n another Gulf country with a very nice three bedroom apartment thank you very much! And yes, I am working for a College that is actually well administered and organised, staffed in the main, by real professionals and people of character. Therefore I disagree with Natureguy who believes we "should not expect the same levels of organization/collaboration/transparency that exist in educational institutions in the Western world". Why not?? Of course we should.

Eric, I�d like to hear from you by Private Mail (PM) so I can help you understand what�s really going on at Sohar College.