Job Discussion Forums

[R_totale]

Thought I might give an update on the (dire) situation at King Saud University’s rebranded First Year Common.

The program has entered into terminal decline. Salaries were slashed at the beginning of the year and have been cut even further for new recruits (now hovering around 9000 plus allowances I believe). Every month sees a new round of newbies doing a runner the day after pay day (most are on business visas these days).

Working hours have increased, so that some teachers are forced (not sure if this is still the case) to teach more or less all day everyday. All this done against a background of demeaning micro-management resulting in one of the most unpleasant working environments I have ever encountered. Several of the new managers stand out in their petty, arrogant, officious awfulness - the self-styled 'guided one' and the 'kiwi' who, in a few short months, have succeeded in making themselves reviled and the management that promoted such characters a laughing stock (if they weren't already).

Management in general spend their days cooking up ever more ridiculous ways of proving their management mettle – getting overworked teachers to write essays, attend ‘management meetings’ where staff are treated like CELTA guinea pigs, instigating office hour requirements etc etc...

So if anyone out there is thinking of making the jump, please be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely) and give this particular institution a very wide berth indeed.

[Foo_Fighters_Dave]

9000 SAR a month? How much of a slash did the University do to cut that down? Sorry to hear that the job is difficult.

Are the students decent?

[nomad soul]

[scot47]

And those companies make profit by charging KSU x+y and giving the teachers x, while retaining y for themselves.


Go figure as they say in Algebra.


Contracting out jobs started in the Kingdom with ARAMCO. It is now almost universal and provides rich pickings - but not for those who take the jobs. The Saudi middlemen make a nice living out of it. This was certainly the intention of those who designed this exploitative system.

[In the heat of the moment]

Why would anyone accept such a poor deal? You can earn more than 9,000 sar in China, and have better students, colleagues, and life - social and in general.

[1st Sgt Welsh]

[scot47]

I left KSA in 2011. I think I left at a good time.

[dragonpiwo]

I think it was a good time to get out the sand Scot. It's over. The race to the bottom continues at pace because someone's twigged that the teacher's ain't the problem.....

[scot47]

Large pool of people happy to come to the region for religious reasons. It was noticeable when I was there that more reliance was being placed on the recruitment of teachers from that demographic. In a few years these jobs will be done by locals.

I have met several Saudi nationals teaching English in Intermediate and Secondary schools who can definitely do a better job than some of the weirdos recruited from the West. Myself included.,

[In the heat of the moment]

[R_totale]

In answer to the question why would anyone accept such a bad deal? - my two cents is that employees fall into four categories:

1) old hands hanging on for one more year
2) Non westerners for whom the salary is still attractive (Egyptians, Syrians etc)
3) religious types (although most only stick a year - do the hajj etc and get out)
4) desparadoes, weirdos and unemployables who couldn't get another job (King Saud has been so desperate they no longer check the certificates of those on business visas & all pretence at hiring decent teachers has gone).

The students are usually very decent, friendly and eager to learn. Some of the low levels can be a bit hard to handle but that is mainly because the curriculum is done by incompetents who think beginners are best served by tearing through an academic skills book at lightning pace...

[TravelingMuslim]

This thread seems a place for disgruntled teachers to vent.

1) No, the HR didn't do it. Salary cuts go way higher then them. They got bigger cuts than the teachers.

2) Level B teachers in sem 1 were definitely overworked, but now most teachers teach about 4 hours or less a day.

3) The teaching isn't micromanaged at all, just the logistics. They are overly-strict on paperwork and signin and things like it, but I feel quite relaxed as a teacher.

Won't deny salaries aren't good right now but it's not the nightmare some people are making it out to be.

[R_totale]

I didn't claim the head of HR personally instigated the pay cuts just the incompetent and bullying managerial style. Granted this is par for the course in Saudi but having worked in a few different places I can honestly say I never felt as demeaned or patronised as when I worked at King Saud. Any teacher who works there and says he feels treated like a valued professional is simply lying or has very very low standards.

Nor did I claim the teaching itself was micromanaged - its too big a campus for that, indeed its the perfect place to hide and do next to no teaching & plenty of teachers do that. Like I said the hiring criteria is basically 'has he got a pulse?' these days.

[Linguist]

[psychedelicacy]