Job Discussion Forums

[kelticgirl]

maybe a rumour but SBC or Adwaa has been fired?? in riyadh re PNU

anyone know any more?

[illeanasky]

Hi,

So how'd you hear of this??

[Bellatrix]

Teachers have been discussing communication problems with this recruiter for the last few weeks.

I prefer to remain silent about my sources, but as part of the network of people who have signed contracts with this company I have heard the same rumors. And I have heard worse about teachers that are already there - housing snafus and shorted paychecks. It sounds like its turning into every traveling ESL teacher's nightmare.

Either way, the lack of communication has raised some serious red flags for me. Even if they called me up today and asked me to leave immediately I would probably tell them "no".

[c_dange]

I heard from the Adwaa correspondent as soon as they got back from the Eid break on Nov. 13 and then again on the 15th. Although admittedly, she hasn't returned two of the emails that I sent recently.

I though this odd, and so to hedge my bets I got in contact with World Ed Group who is still sending teachers over there. They're recruiting for SBC, so SBC must still be working for the university. However, the correspondent with World Ed is saying that there is some delay in processing the visas in Doha - the normal 1-2 day wait is taking over a week. I wouldn't be surprised if Adwaa is avoiding contact until this glitch has been worked out.

Of course, it's very possible that Adwaa's been dropped from SBC...except that I've only heard this through PMs on Dave's and not yet from the horse's mouth. Although I appreciate that everyone's trying to keep everyone else informed, I also think it's dangerous to accept 3rd and 4th hand information as truth. In the face of absolute silence from Adwaa, this rumour is getting circulated within a closed circuit of information and ultimately reaffirming itself.

I'm not saying anyone here is a liar; I'm sure we're all sharing with the best of intentions. But it's just too easy to get caught up in this slew of unfounded information. I personally don't know anyone at PNU right now who I trust and am in contact with regularly. So I'm just gonna wait this one out til I hear from Adwaa, and keep my other options open in the meantime.

[Bellatrix]

[c_dange]

Funny thing is, I have signed with Adwaa... and with World Ed. Despite Adwaa's initial urgency, I've been waiting on them with no idea of when I might be asked to leave. World Ed is being more informative. But speaking with their rep from SBC sent up some red flags, as I got the sense at times that he was lying to me or just telling me what I wanted to hear.

As of right now, I'm waiting to see which of these recruiters will come through first with a plane ticket. But I'm starting to worry about what the job will be like when (and if) I get over there.

[It's Scary!]

Shoulda done been worried.

It's just another tragic story concerning recruiters that are nonstop!

[nomad soul]

Perhaps that "rumor" was based on these firings.

30 university teachers protest arbitrary sacking
By ARAB NEWS, Nov 22, 2011
(Source: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article536850.ece?)

RIYADH: As many as 30 Saudi women who are teaching English at Riyadh�s Princess Noura University face a bitter option of either staying in service by accepting just half their salary or leave the job. These assistant teachers who possess bachelor�s and master�s degrees say that they had joined the service after signing an agreement to work for a full academic year at a salary of SR6,000.

The university has justified its move of replacing them with native English-speakers as part of measures to ensure quality education and serve the interests of students, Al-Eqtisadiah business daily reported on Monday. Speaking to the newspaper, Abdul Aziz Al-Magoushi, media adviser at the university, attributed the appointment of more native speakers to teach English to the university�s eagerness to improve the quality of foreign language teaching. There are more than 300 foreigners working as English teachers at the university while the number of Saudi teachers is around 70.

Speaking to the newspaper, a number of teachers affected by the new measure claimed that most of the foreign teachers appointed in their place at the Preparatory Year Deanship at the university are not qualified and do not meet the university's requirement of CELTA certification. These teachers include holders of diplomas and some of them were former coffee shop workers, they said while admitting that a small number of them are American or British nationals while others are American and British nationals of Arab or Indian origins. The teachers also noted that there are two firms in charge of hiring teachers for the university. They are the Company for Training Experts and the Saudi British Institute. These firms exploited a clause in the labor contract that states that there would be a three-month probation period for the teachers.

A batch of teachers hired from foreign countries arrived just a few days before the completion of their probation period and they were replaced by these foreigners, the teachers said while drawing attention to the fact that most of them have been appointed for a full year term as per a clause of the contract, which says that they should not be either replaced or removed from their position under any circumstances. It should be also noted that some of these teachers had not signed any such work contracts. The company hired them simply on the basis of their application, the newspaper reported.

Reacting to the teachers� comments, Al-Magoushi said the university�s only concern is to protect the interests of students while taking such decisions. �We are giving paramount importance to the quality of education while implementing the Preparatory Year Program. We concluded our contract with the University of Auckland for the same purpose.�

(End of article)

[c_dange]

[quote="nomad soul"]Perhaps that "rumor" was based on these firings.[/quote]

I don't really see how the two are related, since the teachers mentioned in this article aren't qualified teachers at all, but rather Saudi women who were hired as warm bodies to fill teaching positions. Whereas, Adwaa and SBC are contracted to hire foreign teachers and bring them into Saudi to (presumably) replace the women mentioned here. Although it seems ethically unjust to replace local labour with foreign, it does say that these teachers were fired in order to replace them with more qualified native English speakers.

The rumour in question was started when a few teachers on here weren't getting email responses fast enough from Adwaa, and so decided to spread the word that they'd been let go from SBC. They claimed to have connections at PNU that confirmed this, yet none of the Facebook pages populated by PNU teachers reflected this drama. You think it would have caused more of an uproar if an entire population of foreign workers had just lost their jobs overnight.

For the record: the Eid holiday, followed by a surprise complication in obtaining visas for Canadians resulted in a temporary lull of email activity coming from Adwaa. They are still trying to fill about 100 or so positions at PNU for SBC.

[Bellatrix]

[c_dange]

Hmmm...don't think I've called you a liar. In fact, I've written just the opposite in this thread: "I'm not saying anyone here is a liar..." Not to mention that none of my posts have been directed at you.

I'm just trying to present a balanced picture of the situation and sort out fact from fiction. Most importantly, for those who might be new to this topic.

If it makes you feel any better...you can have my position with Adwaa. Although they have been responsive with me, I've already swapped them for a more reliable recruiter.

[Bellatrix]

[illeanasky]

A lot of the local teachers have just finished university and were hired by PNU. I do feel sorry for the teachers however, as the programme leaders at PNU said "they want to raise the standards of English language teaching." PNU is now offering CELTA to the MANY who do not have one. So with that being said, I believe that many places look at what certificates one might have rather than the years of experience.

I do believe that Adwaa might have been droped by SBC because of all the "promises" they have made on behalf of SBC to the teachers.

[Mushakil]

I think Adwaa is really slow replying seems to take a week to get a reply.
Contract recieved end of nov. but interview in oct.

I wonder about the "quick visas" they have and if you can bring your family and how long does it take to get a visit visa for your family and if you can apply for one before you go there that way you don't have to split up your family.

Any PNU teachers out there working under Adwaa/sbc contracts? How is the situation?

Do they allow you to take the housing allowance or you must use their housing?

Any married PNU teachers?

[veiledsentiments]

With the "quick" business visas, you can't bring your family. You need a legal work visa - an iqama. Or at least that is what has been reported here.

VS