Job Discussion Forums

sarakershaw · Joined: 22 Jun 2007 Posts: 16

I just saw an opening for Instructors at the University of Nizwa. Does anyone have any information about this institution?

jwbhomer · Joined: 14 Dec 2003 Posts: 876 Location: CANADA

Did you try doing a search here?

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=35114&highlight=nizwa

They offered me a contract in the spring of 2006 to start in August but in the end I turned it down because their administration just didn't seem to have its act together.

sarakershaw · Joined: 22 Jun 2007 Posts: 16

Thanks jwbhomer,

I supposedly browsed through previous posts but obviously missed this one. They are currently recruiting and was wondering what the conditions were like and what it's like working for them. But all seems more negative than positive.

Neil McBeath · Joined: 01 Dec 2005 Posts: 277 Location: Saudi Arabia

I worked in Saudi Arabia with a man who had previously been in Nizwa and he had been comparatively happy there. the salary wasn't much, but the working conditions and the general atmosphere of the town were, he said, far superior to those in KSA.

On a personal note, I would think that Nizwea would be an OK place to live. I spent four and a half years in the Omani Armour Brigade Camp about 60 km away (at Sha'afa) and Nizwa was a thriving metropolis by comparison.

flutterbayou · Joined: 01 Apr 2006 Posts: 244

I know a few people who completed two-year contracts at this school. They had nice/free housing provided by the school, which might be why the salary seems on the low side.

Perks were that they didn't have to remain on campus all day, but only showed up for classes AND after holding up to the two year contract, a hefty bonus was thrown in. They were also provided transportation to and from work.

They did say that students weren't all that serious about learning, though, and that the kids more or less did what they pleased. For instance, when the wadi filled, students sometimes cancelled class to watch the show.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

The Omani students react to rain just as little kids in the US react to snow. They just have to go out and play in it and few teachers can control their excitement. I'll never forget the first time I found a bunch of my 18 year old first-year students holding up their dishdashas... splashing in the puddles and giggling like little kids. Normally they tended to be a bit reserved and proper around their new woman teacher, so I actually found it quite endearing.

Rain in the desert is an event... a happy event... and it happens rarely enough that one can give up a class period.

VS

mishmumkin · Joined: 01 Sep 2007 Posts: 929

A friend of mine has been there for a few years, and is generally please with it. Life is Nizwa is certainly slow-paced, but if you enjoy the views and the outdoors, this would be a nice place to live. My only rub, after visiting the town, is that you would constantly be running into your colleagues too often for my tastes. I think it was about 150 K from Muscat, and a 4.5 hour to Dubai with regular bus service from Nizwa to larger ctities in the area.

007 · Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 4:24 pm Post subject:

It seems University of Nizwa is a good place, especially when considering entertainment and food.
The picture below shows the faculty, staff, leaders of tribes, and honorary members in the University of Nizwa enjoying a big food party in Ramadan.
It must be a good place, we have to wait and see?

BTW, the guy who is sitting in the second table and looking at me, he must be the director of the English department. Laughing