Job Discussion Forums

[FarGone]

Let us all agree, then, that the University of Buraimi and ELS (private contractor of teachers to UoB) are profit-driven enterprises, run by an assortment of businessmen from different countries around the so-called Middle East; that students at University of Buraimi have far too much influence in the decision-making processes (level placement; level advancement; grade changes) of the instructor than would ever happen in the West--and which should not be tolerated at any institution of learning.

The ELS/GFP & cohorts just gave in and buckled to every demand raised by the young adults here. Just bent over. It was sickening.

Don't ever take a job here.

[Nolan Chance]

[cfaulkner]

The best game to play is to not go to the Middle East to begin with, judging by the reputation that region must live down to.

[nomad soul]

[FarGone]

[La Reve]

At SUC, Steakinator mentioned his medical/insurance problems.

At U of Burami, insurance problems cost me $5,000. Doctors want cash, and want the patient to get reimbursed by the insurance company. For a very good reason.

The insurance company does not provide any info in writing. Says 'Yes' on the phone, but when I went to collect the check, said 'No.'

When the insurance agent said he was trained in the USA, and dropped words like pre-existing condition and others I figured he was well trained in fraud.

So don't plan on getting sick here.

My road pass ran out - had to go through the UAE/Omani border without a road pass. Talk about stress! People off praying, having to get eye scans, etc. All sorts of petty bureaucratic b.s. I won't ever visit the UAE again!

[March Hare]

[La Reve]

In an Oman Tribune editorial of Thursday, 26th of July, �Dream becomes reality� the editor presented a fantasy concerning education in Oman. Facts about colleges and private universities in Oman show, on the contrary, that higher education is becoming more like a nightmare rather than a dream.

1. When 75% of students do not have books, is this a dream becoming a reality?

2. When university administrators point the finger of blame to others, not resolving the problem, is this a dream becoming a reality?

3. When contracted insurance companies fail to cover medical procedures, is this an era of insurance fraud?

4. When students not prepared for a college level English program are placed in levels they cannot do � and the students are either passed onto the next level or taught at a lower level, then passed to higher levels which are impossible for them to learn or succeed, is this an era of educational fraud?

5. When colleges mismanage student and teacher time schedules and classes run the full length of Ramadan, into the end of August, is this simply a minor hiccup?

6. When teacher recruiters insist summer pay is only issued after one full calendar year from the commencement of the contract, and not the last days of the contracted year, and hope teachers will simply leave and thus the recruiters can pocket the teachers� gratuities, is this simply a minor hiccup or corruption?

7. When administrators do not penalize students for excessive absences, lack of homework, disrespect of teachers or constant cheating on tests; while instructing teachers to dumb down exams for maximum passes, bully teachers, not provide office supplies like whiteboard markers and erasers, lie for each other, and smoke on the campus in view of students, is this another hiccup or is this corruption?

8. When administrators neither penalize nor offer academic policies regarding student plagarism, but instruct teachers to pass the students, even at the most respected facility in Oman, Sultan Qaboos University, is this simply another hiccup or is this corruption?

9. When administrators pass students despite teachers� protests, alter numbers, lower passing grades down to 50%, assure percentages tailor-fit and please the Dean and the Ministries, is this another hiccup or is this corruption?

10. When a person from the Ministry of Manpower visits a college and asks, �Why are you graduating students who can�t speak English?� and hears only silence, is this a nightmare?

11. When a teacher (myself) must go to court over a case of sexual harassment, only to have the guilty party enlist other administrators to lie for him; and to go to court because the recruiter did not follow the Labor Law during negotiations, is this a nightmare or corruption?

From my point of view, having taught English at both the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Higher Education and a private university for more than 10 years, these Ministries and the country of Oman possess the illusion of having provided its young people with an excellent educational system. A delusion, not a dream made reality.

Where is the oversight? Where is the responsibility? Where is the justice? Where is the enlightened education?

[veiledsentiments]

Much of that is true of all educational institutions in the Gulf and has been true since the '80s. Their ball and their court... as long as they are the ones paying, they get to set their own priorities and if we don't like it, it is time to move on. They really don't much care about our opinions or advice, and when they do, they will ask.

The key for us is to try to avoid recruiters and new employers... but that usually depends on our credentials and experience. Those with the weaker CVs will have to deal with weaker educational systems that don't share our opinions or standards. If one doesn't have the ability to deal with substandard conditions, avoid these positions. (possession of an MA is the key to moving up to the better employers)

VS

[La Reve]

Nearly all jobs, as far as I know, go through recruiters in Oman.

It's part of the corruption process - to spread the money around.

[veiledsentiments]

There are a significant number of private universities, although SQU is one of the few government institutions that has stayed away from recruiters. (they actually tried using one some years ago and it was such a disaster that they dumped them after a couple years)

There is University of Nizwa, and 5-10 small unis in Muscat area, and 3-5 in Salalah. I believe that Sohar University direct hires. Granted other than SQU and UoN, most are quite small, but they are there.

VS

[La Reve]

And most of them are as bad as Buraimi. Read about Sur University College. That's an excellent summary of the state of education in Oman.

[veiledsentiments]

No, they are reflective of education in the Gulf at the lower levels. And the reality is that at every one of the institutions that have complainers on here, there are teachers who are doing just fine. They manage to not repeatedly cross swords with the management, to teach their classes, to do what they can for the students who are serious, to bank their salary, and to enjoy what Oman has to offer.

My repeated advice stays the same. Get an MA and get up the scale. These low level jobs can do their part to provide experience with Arabic speakers and Academic English for your CV is you play your cards right and manage to leave with a letter of reference.

VS

[The Steakinator]

[FarGone]