Job Discussion Forums

[seriousgirl]

Dear fellow teacher creatures,

This is my first posting here at the cafe. I have recently been offered a position with a recruiter, Hawthorn, for a government college in Sur. Also potentially a position at the Uni Nizwa, which I understand has a good reputation...?

Does anyone know about the current working conditions, treatment of teachers, morale at both or either of these two places? I have heard CFBT is problematic.

I just wonder why they are recruiting so quickly. please feel free to post or pm me.

Thanks,

too serious

[4 wheel drive]

Hello

Please be so careful if you were to choose between Nizwa Uni or Hawthorne.

Please choose Nizwa they are professional. (Mod edit) Majali does not care one bit about his employees. He will take all your things and through you out of the country first be sure of that.

Take it from someone who knows him for more info you can contact me at [email protected]

Good Luck

[temujinsky]

I am going to Nizwa in a week's time and I have experienced (MOD edit) Majali and the fact that I am going to Nizwa should say something about Majali. In fact, slip down the page a bit on the Omani index and seek the Majali thread. It shud tell you something about old mate Majali.

[veiledsentiments]

What does Majali have to do with Hawthorne? Aren't they two different recruiters?

VS

[flutterbayou]

Abdul Majali recruits for Hawthorn. I find him capable and pleasant to talk with.

[flutterbayou]

Seriousgirl,

CFBT is not recruiting for the University of Nizwa. It is recruiting for the College of Applied Sciences in Nizwa - they are two different schools.

I know it for certain, because CFBT offered me a slot there. At present, the Director of the English Department told me he had a surplus of teachers and not enough classes for them to teach.

Use your own judgment.

Abdul Majali has also offered me a spot in Sur, and he will provide you with a teacher's email address and phone number, if you want to hear something from the horse's mouth.

Just off the cuff here, but it seems that some of the comments above on Majali were not written by native speakers. I wouldn't trust these posters' comments because Majali recruits native speakers.

[bomzis1]

Mr Majali is not the most trustworthy character around but you can rely on him/ Hawthorne to pay you on time and in full. It seems Hawthorne are taking a bigger cut of newly recruited teachers' salaries than cfbt- pocketing the raise granted by the Sultan earlier this year and also only reimbursing only 75% of your return airfare if you re-sign. They also want to book you on cheap flights with lots of inconvenient stops etc so they can then charge teh govt for your 'expensive' flights and pocket the difference. This doesn't affect the teacher but shows how capable Monsieur Majali is .

[4 wheel drive]

Dear Fellow Teachers

Do not trust Abdul Majali he does not treat women with any respect at all and how is it that he has come to own a part in Sur University yet he is charging the government for his recruitment for teachers thus the women teachers in general become his victims........

Think about it

[Duffy]

4 wheel drive,

Seems to me you have only 2 wheel drive selected!!

Why are you banging on about this guy Majali being so bad??? I have often posted that my experiences with his handling me was ok, Flutterbayou and Bomziz says the same. What have YOU got against him? Is this a personal thing? Did he do or not do, something to your utter satisfaction?

Or, is it the fact that you are female and that you consider that he did not treat you with the respect "you" thought he should??
Life's a bitch sometime - get over it and move on!!

Duffy

Mods, can I or you set up a poll asking who has had a bad or good deal from Mir Majali??

[veiledsentiments]

Majali's name has been around this board for many years, mostly with complaints in the past. That said, with his current contract, most teachers for the last couple years have commented that at least their contracts were honored.

As far as recruiters go, there will always be complaints about them as they tend to hire people who are new to the gulf and don't understand the system or the culture. Expectations of things outside what is written will usually be what we hear about.

Based on previous posts that were properly pulled by the MODS, it seems that Ms 4WD broke her contract and wasn't happy with the result.

VS

[Duffy]

VS,

Did I miss something there??? Have the Mods pulled 4X's posts, on the Oman section?

Confussed (that's not to difficult at my age!!)

Duffy

[flutterbayou]

With regards to the agencies and Majali in particular, he is the only rep who has offered me telephone numbers and email addresses of teachers on site to tell me how things are going.

Sometimes the teachers are brutal about the school's state of affairs (so he's not introducing me to the goodie-two-shoes), but still Majali openly offers me contact with them.

I think he's been rather honest with me. As to the other posts mentioned, all unis and colleges use the cheapest fares for flights, and I'm sure that MOHE knows what the rates are.

Hawthorn reps are open from the start about the 75% rule on resigning (not re-signing) and so I have found nothing hidden about the business tactics at Hawthorn. At least this org sends people to colleges that have actual vacancies.

[denise]

[flutterbayou]

Denise,

We have the two schools confused.

The university in Nizwa is need of teachers - agreed.

The OP here wrote that her agency was sending her to the university, but I wrote that CFBT is sending teachers to the College of Arts and Sciences (the old College of Education) where teachers currently have no classes to teach.

Maybe some could make a move over to the other side of town?

[4 wheel drive]

Majali isnt honest so Duffy if you know this why are you putting me down!!
Also my post was not pulled only my emails proving that Majali isnt honest. First of all it was not you who he fired while out of Oman.

Again are you interested to know that he did not pay me for Summer school work at the College of Sohar as well as the College they did not pay me either.

Oh bye the way I did not resign or quit I had a real emergency and after not being able to live properly since July it was not enough for Majali he just let me go without notice and has decided that he is not going to pay me either.

I guess it is too bad for my animals ( 3 cats) without homes and what about all my belonging he refuses to give them back. So what is your problem or do you even have a heart.

All in all I dont have to defend myself but please know the whole story before you put a fellow teacher down and I am American and have worked in Oman for 3 years. Most of all I am honest and everyone knows that.