I'm really starting to wonder about whoever runs this ISR website...
There's a link on the homepage now saying "Kuwaiti Minister of Education Bans Expat School Administrators". One might think that because of this case, they've suddenly decided to get rid of all the expat administrative staff.
If you go to the article, though, it's old news. The Ministry announced a while ago (as I mentioned before) that they were trying to phase out expats in administration positions of private schools. The last sentence says: "Official sources also expect that within a few years all administrators employed in private schools would be Kuwaitis." So it's obviously not an immediate ban.
(How come when I preview the comments, the word "e x p a t" has turned into a period?)
Al-Bayan Bilingual School
I for one will be glad. I'd rather have Kuwaitis as admin staff than the untrustworthy Syrians and Egyptians we have- sorry t sound so bigotted but they are so busy kissing up to the Kuwaiti owners that everything is covered up and you never get a grievance heard. At least Kuwaiti admin ( tho they may send a lot of time on the mobiles and drinking chai.......) won't care about kissing up!
Yeap !
[quote="jaapolanco"]defender you sound as if you speak from experience in Kuwaiti jails.
Kathryn3 are your comments directed to me or defender?[/quote]
I do, I work very close with KMOI, and been there several times looking for americans....
Kathryn3 are your comments directed to me or defender?[/quote]
I do, I work very close with KMOI, and been there several times looking for americans....
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jeffofarabia
- Posts: 57
- Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2007 5:32 am
- Location: Shanghai, China
we had the same talk a few years ago about hiring kuwaiti teachers. some kuwaitis interviewed but they didn't want to teach, they just wanted to be administrators, without any educational experiences (which is absurd, until you think about all of the teachers who don't have any experiences as well.
someone asked about the insurance at ais. i am not 100% satisfied with it, since it doesn't cover me in the united states. however, i think a lot of that has to do with the fact that the usa has the most screwed up health care system in the rich world. we do have to pay a deductable of 10 kd, but i hardly ever get sick.
someone asked about the insurance at ais. i am not 100% satisfied with it, since it doesn't cover me in the united states. however, i think a lot of that has to do with the fact that the usa has the most screwed up health care system in the rich world. we do have to pay a deductable of 10 kd, but i hardly ever get sick.
Better to have Kuwaitis in the office- unless they are qualified and experienced - we had a kuwaiti classroom assistant this year who was off every Tuesday + one random day a week! Mind you, she didn't get her contract renewed.
Kuwaitis now want to work in the private sector because of the social allowance. I get 240 KD extra a month from the government simply for being Kuwaiti in a private school.Nice perks , eh!
Kuwaitis now want to work in the private sector because of the social allowance. I get 240 KD extra a month from the government simply for being Kuwaiti in a private school.Nice perks , eh!
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jeffofarabia
- Posts: 57
- Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2007 5:32 am
- Location: Shanghai, China
miski, you write:
"I for one will be glad. I'd rather have Kuwaitis as admin staff than the untrustworthy Syrians and Egyptians we have- sorry t sound so bigotted but they are so busy kissing up to the Kuwaiti owners that everything is covered up and you never get a grievance heard. At least Kuwaiti admin ( tho they may send a lot of time on the mobiles and drinking chai.......) won't care about kissing up!"
And then I write:
Based on my experience in other companies, do you think that Kuwaiti administrators would even show up?
"I for one will be glad. I'd rather have Kuwaitis as admin staff than the untrustworthy Syrians and Egyptians we have- sorry t sound so bigotted but they are so busy kissing up to the Kuwaiti owners that everything is covered up and you never get a grievance heard. At least Kuwaiti admin ( tho they may send a lot of time on the mobiles and drinking chai.......) won't care about kissing up!"
And then I write:
Based on my experience in other companies, do you think that Kuwaiti administrators would even show up?
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interested
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2007 4:57 am
- Location: transplanted in Kuwait
Kuwaiti Admin.
I have a few points to make regarding the MOE decision, ISR, teacher do your research and why we are teachers.
I feel that if the MOE is about to enforce their new guidelines, the potential admin. would only be in name only. Many of the international accrediting organizations clearly state that the schools must be of specific nationality. If a school is working towards Middle States then the admin, must have a strong American team represented in the admin.
So be careful what some believe is happening in Kuwait.
Also as stated earlier, this is not a new policy. There is a law in Kuwait that states a minimum of 7% of any companies staff must be nationals.
The bottom line is, if one is moving to a new country to work, do your research. The ISR is an excellent resource but I have come to realize that should not be the deciding factor in.
Within this website their is an abundance of information: questions to ask your potential superintendent, questions to ask during your interview, make use of this.
Kuwait is getting a bum rap right at the moment and I fear for many schools as we will be struggling to attain good quality teacher thus affecting our ability to provide a quality education, which after all is why we have become teachers, isn't it.
I feel that if the MOE is about to enforce their new guidelines, the potential admin. would only be in name only. Many of the international accrediting organizations clearly state that the schools must be of specific nationality. If a school is working towards Middle States then the admin, must have a strong American team represented in the admin.
So be careful what some believe is happening in Kuwait.
Also as stated earlier, this is not a new policy. There is a law in Kuwait that states a minimum of 7% of any companies staff must be nationals.
The bottom line is, if one is moving to a new country to work, do your research. The ISR is an excellent resource but I have come to realize that should not be the deciding factor in.
Within this website their is an abundance of information: questions to ask your potential superintendent, questions to ask during your interview, make use of this.
Kuwait is getting a bum rap right at the moment and I fear for many schools as we will be struggling to attain good quality teacher thus affecting our ability to provide a quality education, which after all is why we have become teachers, isn't it.
I've worked with Kuwaitis in different government ministries, and there are Kuwaitis who come to work every day and work hard. Many of them are intelligent and competent, and are just as frustrated with their jobs as foreigners, because they really have an interest in making things better. Most of the schools in Kuwait have Kuwaiti administrators, if you include the government schools. There is a smaller pool of Kuwaitis who are fluent in English, although there are also a number of Western women married to Kuwaitis, and they get Kuwaiti citizenship after a while.
I'd also like to know more about the other American teachers who were supposedly arrested. At least one of them was for drugs, right? And there was one American professor, in the prestigious MBA program of a European university, who left suddenly after students complained about a film he showed them. He was discussing the collapse of Enron and saw fit to show his MBA students - men and women - a film where top executives went to a topless bar, with the dancers shown stripping and then dancing topless. So are there any American teachers that were actually harassed and arrested for no good reason?
I'd also like to know more about the other American teachers who were supposedly arrested. At least one of them was for drugs, right? And there was one American professor, in the prestigious MBA program of a European university, who left suddenly after students complained about a film he showed them. He was discussing the collapse of Enron and saw fit to show his MBA students - men and women - a film where top executives went to a topless bar, with the dancers shown stripping and then dancing topless. So are there any American teachers that were actually harassed and arrested for no good reason?
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jeffofarabia
- Posts: 57
- Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2007 5:32 am
- Location: Shanghai, China
I never heard of any teachers being arrested for drugs or showing inappropriate movies. When was this and did it make the Arab Times? Also Meinq8 you have mentioned procedures set by the Ministry of Education. I worked in the educational setting for 13 years in Kuwait and honestly, I was never shown any guidelines or procedures set by the Ministry of Education. I was surprised when you mentioned this. Could it be that Katherine Phillips did not know about this. Is that her fault or the schools? How do you know that the "suggestion of boycotting" teaching contracts in Kuwait came from Katherine Phillips? From everything I read I feel it came from ISR.
[quote="da3boyzs"]I never heard of any teachers being arrested for drugs or showing inappropriate movies. When was this and did it make the Arab Times? Also Meinq8 you have mentioned procedures set by the Ministry of Education. I worked in the educational setting for 13 years in Kuwait and honestly, I was never shown any guidelines or procedures set by the Ministry of Education. I was surprised when you mentioned this. Could it be that Katherine Phillips did not know about this. Is that her fault or the schools? How do you know that the "suggestion of boycotting" teaching contracts in Kuwait came from Katherine Phillips? From everything I read I feel it came from ISR.[/quote]
Try reading the local newspapers.
Try reading the local newspapers.
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jeffofarabia
- Posts: 57
- Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2007 5:32 am
- Location: Shanghai, China
the high school librarian at my school sent out a memo last fall reminding teachers not to show dvds in the classroom, and to remember to preview all materials (books, videos, etc.). Supposedly the Ministry was starting to crack down.
Think how they closed down Virgin last spring. It is a good reminder.
Think how they closed down Virgin last spring. It is a good reminder.
I don't know how the schools disseminate the information, but the Ministry of Education (Department of Private Education) sets policies and even sets a range for how much the school can charge in tuition fees, how much they should pay teachers, etc.
I think I read some vague reference to the professor showing an innappropriate film, but the newspaper didn't mention the university or any other details, and I didn't pay much attention. But I happened to be talking to an old friend of mine recently, and she told me about it firsthand, because she was in the class.
The English newspapers often ignore or kind of "paper over" things done by Westerners, and there's a very different version in the Arabic newspapers. A long time ago (before the current war in Iraq), there was a British guy missing near the Iraqi border, or taken by Iraqi border guards or something. From reading the Arab Times, I understood that he was a caterer, just trying to do his job, and he got disoriented, and the poor, innocent guy got lost and crossed the border without realizing it, and was in a difficult situation; the Embassy was supporting him, and all the Westerners felt sorry for him and worried that it could happen to some other innocent person.
When I mentioned that to some Kuwaiti friends, they laughed, because the version they read (and knew) was very different. Apparently, everyone knew that this area was a dangerous area near the border, where Iraqis had a black market in alcohol and prostitutes. The guy was up there drinking and buying alcohol and got himself into a messy situation... Since then, I've seen other stories that were very different from what my husband reads in the Arabic-language papers. So take it with a grain of salt.
I think I read some vague reference to the professor showing an innappropriate film, but the newspaper didn't mention the university or any other details, and I didn't pay much attention. But I happened to be talking to an old friend of mine recently, and she told me about it firsthand, because she was in the class.
The English newspapers often ignore or kind of "paper over" things done by Westerners, and there's a very different version in the Arabic newspapers. A long time ago (before the current war in Iraq), there was a British guy missing near the Iraqi border, or taken by Iraqi border guards or something. From reading the Arab Times, I understood that he was a caterer, just trying to do his job, and he got disoriented, and the poor, innocent guy got lost and crossed the border without realizing it, and was in a difficult situation; the Embassy was supporting him, and all the Westerners felt sorry for him and worried that it could happen to some other innocent person.
When I mentioned that to some Kuwaiti friends, they laughed, because the version they read (and knew) was very different. Apparently, everyone knew that this area was a dangerous area near the border, where Iraqis had a black market in alcohol and prostitutes. The guy was up there drinking and buying alcohol and got himself into a messy situation... Since then, I've seen other stories that were very different from what my husband reads in the Arabic-language papers. So take it with a grain of salt.