Job Discussion Forums

[D. Merit]

[Middle East Beast]

[secretsquirrel]

Hmmm, so the Provost brazenly told all the Teachers to go take a hike, and then changed his mind, promising all would be hunky-dory.

Would you trust this man? Will the money actually appear? I think the end of this typical HCT foot-shooting episode is far from near.

Keep an eye on this space for news of the missing dirhams ... or will the promises evaporate quicker than you can say 'King Kamali'?!

[Maria Redwine]

Thanks SKYPE, FACEBOOK, TWITTER. And Dave's.

I am so glad I left RAK in the year 1 BC (Before Claw). The more I hear, the more I shudder in my retirement slippers. Thanks to my many dear friends for their anguished updates of two RAK colleges: once beautiful, now on the brink of a mismanagment catastrophe.... waiting to be pushed over the edge by an elderly American Mussolini with memory loss, and his acolyte Associate Director, a former student in the college (of whom more anon if I can get a full factual bio from my oldest informants).

It's all very well for teachers in this disgraceful case championed by Greenpeace. Teachers have easy access to the resources to make a big public noise (not least on this forum) . Congratulations.

It's not all very well for support staff. The human rights headlines should scream: HCT retains Faculty and jettisons support staff.

HCT told ALL (Ras Al Khaimah) faculty and suppport staff who were leaving that they were to leave on Tuesday. Whether teacher or support, you turn up on Tuesday and (if you're lucky) you get told Tuesday's your last day of work. [If you're not lucky, by the way, you get phoned late at night by a student who was sorry to learn it was your last day of work, even before you'd heard it!] . There was no written communication. It was all botched word of mouth, hearsay, rumor: very HCT.

"(But you said in February you would pay me until 16th June -- not end of July which is the end of my contract because you standardized things to ensure ALL contracts ended on the last day of July)."

HO! HO! DOWNWARD STEP A. When HCT was a professional institution with ethics and credibility and a mission to recruit and retain quality staff, it would pay to the end of the contract. DOWNWARD STEP B. Then, when it became mismanaged and dispreputable, it paid to the end of the last teaching day -- to hell with the details of the contract. DOWNWARD STEP C. Now it's recalculating the last working day in its own mercenary interest.

I left when it was step B. Bad. Step C is disgusting and outrageous.

HCT in RAK apparently realized it was in deep wobbly brown stuff yesterday as it slowly dawned upon the management that many teachers would leave without finishing their marking of exams projects or portfolios and their input of grades. The college went into panic mode. Therefore, teachers were re-invited, or commanded to extend their service to HCT rather than take the leave days they had rightfully accrued with immediae effect

In the RAK Men's College, a splendid support person responsible for maintenance, room setup for exams, clean bathrooms etc was arrogantly informed he'd be gone by the end of the afternoon. He then, meekly and with his limited salary, went out and bought a revised travel ticket bearing the extra cost at his own expense. Then he was told he could stay on until Sunday because no transition had been planned. He could stay on at HCT's covenience, but would still be obligated to leave early in order to save HCT RAK some dirhams it would be proud to report to its Abu
Dhabi. masters.
A wonderful lady was told she also needed extra time to hand over to her successor.
A third services peron who had served students in the library for a decade and a half had to wait until beyond her going-home time to learn if it were to be her last day or not as her elusive supervisor (the Notorious and elusive Associate ex-student now-Director) dodged her. A short reprieve was granted all but the library person.

However, I was shocked to be told that support staff were not granted the reprieve accorded to Faculty. Professionl educators would hope that HCT might act, at least publicly, acording to universal principles of human rights-- rather than petty fiscal savings that violate human rights. HCT would retain Faculty while dumping long serving services peope.

Faculty, by pleading work responsibilities and the threat of litigation and internet-based adverse publicity, were granted their extension to 16th June. Support service staff, on the contrary, seen as the helpless people, were granted the absolute minimalist extension for purely practical reasons so that there could be a smooth transition to their successors.

ONE SUCCESSOR IS THE BROTHER IN LAW OF THE ASSOCIATE DRECTOR. They were cut for budgetary reasons. The chosen one, the brother in law, was newly hired to take over. NEPOTISM? WASTA? Go tell the accreditation board.

The point of this awful exercise in bad human resources management was that managment, and brown-nosing people could then report back to Abu Dhabi on how much money they had saved HCT. They would not report on how much good will and corporate reputation they had lost. They would omit that. Focus on the figures, not on the vision. Do not mention the alienation of employees from the organization.

When did HCT become so shabby? When did it become a mean-minded dispiriting place to work, and not a place of vision? When did it begin to take pride in screwing, without a kiss, its loyal faculty and support staff and stop rewarding excellence? When did it compromise its vision of excellence and settle not only for second best but second last?

SHAME on you all: Provosts( what a redundancy) , vice chancellors, SCINTILLating brown nosers, Rudey people in petty positions of power, silent people afraid to speak out. The arrogant minority (those with no meaningful contact with faculty, students and support staff) go to these secretive macho managment meetings dreaming up these grand schemes to save dirhams and cheat the long serving loyal majority.

As a resut, the loss to HCT's reputation as a place to learn, educate, work and serve is beyond all our calculations, and certainly theirs. It was good when Iworked there. When did HCT start to go wrong? Was there a single defining moment?

You teachers at HCT still: as a policy maker now in my post HCT life, I can advise you that your next step must be to make a list of all those institutions and organizations with whom HCT has signed MOUs, and established partnerships, and inform them of the Faculty and support staff view. You also need to inform all those accrediting universitities and colleges and bodies of the hideous truth. Speak as faculty, presenting facts. You need to sound like a unified voice and not individuals with grievances. That should be easy, given the majoriity view of management, and the factual and documented evidence.

In the past, the HCT board went quiet as so many got on with their lives. That's great. However, do not bypass the opportunity to visit the eslcafe from some distant place, log on and say what you think: as a professional person with the right to be heard.

[republocrat]

A stunning post, MR - both accurate and moving.

I'd take my hat off to you, but I gave it to one of the poor support staff who got fired yesterday morning.

R

[teachertraveler]

A few weeks ago, I interviewed for a job with HCT. Did not get it. After reading the lengthy post by Maria Redwine, I'm shivering in my socks. Wow. God loves me.