Report Number 2
Well, what could I possibly say after spending four years teaching the spoilt, moaning and unmotivated princesses of my particular HCT outpost?
Well, what could I possibly say after spending four years teaching the spoilt, moaning and unmotivated princesses of my particular HCT outpost?
Well, apart from the rude and
deceitful students that I’ve already mentioned, there is the so-called
management. Quite simply, the managers that I have encountered here are the
worst I have experienced in my 30 years of teaching. Firstly, in the years that
I have spent here I have never seen them support the teaching staff – not once!
– even when it’s crystal clear that the students are the problem. In my view
there is a deep vein of ethnic jealousy here, as the locals resent being told
how to behave on their own turf, even when they are clearly wrong and know it.
Saving face is always more important than getting to the bottom of a problem.
Secondly, there is hardly
ever any communication about anything even vaguely important, and when there
is, it’s always left to the last possible moment, leaving us all with no time
to make proper plans. In most cases we get to hear about matters either second
hand or … not at all! Sometimes we have to rely on the students to fill us in
on what’s happening, as they will have been informed by email, but not us. On
one occasion we only found out a vital piece of news about the college from a
newspaper; only the day before it was due to happen did our supreme managers
deem to tell us!
This lack of concern – or
just total incompetence – extends to many areas of college life. We get called
into meetings with just a few minutes of notice. When we ask for some guidance
or training on important matters, perhaps to do with exams or syllabus changes,
it just doesn’t happen. No attempts are ever made to give thanks or appraisal
for a job well done – but then again, how would the useless Emirati managers
even know? Almost without exception, the only time that our great masters
decide to get a move on is when it concerns bad news - issuing reprimands,
warnings and dismissals. So no news is usually considered to be good news by
the humble servants.
However, by far the most
frustrating and worrying feature of working here, at this particular branch of
the HCT empire, is the corruption. Whilst I have not actually seen it myself,
there have been cases of certain teachers ‘helping’ students in exams. What I
can claim to be true is that marks have been altered to boost exam grades,
students have been permitted to re-take exams many more times than college
policy permits, and teachers have been pressurised to pass failing students. If
you object to all this, you will be escorted out of the college and denied any
gratuity or owed monies.
To conclude, my experience at
HCT has shown it to be an entirely unprofessional organisation. My college, in
particular, should be closed down and its Emirati managers re-employed as
shop-assistants or bus-drivers. As for its ‘graduates’, they are fit for
nothing – nothing at all! In short, it's by far the worst educational
institution that I have ever worked at. The saddest thing is that the whole
system is in denial; the local managers, the ones who are steering this limping,
chugging monster off the tracks, have not the slightest idea how to do their
jobs, and equally they have no clue how much they are despised by us teachers
for their inability to do those jobs.
And that, despite being all very sad, is absolutely true.
And that, despite being all very sad, is absolutely true.
15 comments:
Perhaps the 'entrepreneurship' mentioned in the photo is a reference to the girls' enterprise at cheating and manipulation?!
I mean, what else could it be?
BTW, the latest HCT 'end of term report' on Glassdoor, dated July 24, has the following encouraging words to offer...
Cons
Management is incompetent, arrogant, and callous. They see themselves as prison-guards and run the organization to purely benefit themselves and those that protect them as the only way to safeguard their own position and maintain their personal authority and perks. Everything appears to be "in order" as the entire organization is focused around projecting a well-run university and having one success after the other to the outside world. But in reality it is all "make believe" and the lofty pronouncements have nothing to do with reality. Faculty and staff instead of teaching and adding value spend most of their time "checking the box" on one activity and report after another to make everything appear proper.
Advice to Management
There is no hope as long as top management will continue to look the other way and pretend that all is well...
Now, just why am I not surprised by that?
"incompetent, arrogant and callous" sums up the HCT 'managers' perfectly!
HCT no longer has managers, it has muppets - useless, ignorant and idle MUPPETS!
I would beg to differ there, for at least some of the statement. Muppets are humorous and popular, which can in no way be said of HCT’s management goons. However, the three adjectives “useless, ignorant and idle” are absolutely accurate!
I worked at AAWC 2005-2008 and quite enjoyed it. It was ok then, it must have deteriorated considerably in the years since. Sad.
ADM 1995, 14 hours, 15 students, no classes on Wednesday, (weekend was Thursday/Friday). Started a slow decline from there, but really crashed starting in 2008.
I started at ADWC two years before Taleb Kemali became the big boss of HCT. I left two years afterwards, and the difference was tangible even then. And I DON’T mean in a positive way!
So, ‘Go figure’, as the Americans like to say!
"HCT – School of deception & fear"
Current Employee - Assistant Professor
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
I have been working at HCT full-time for more than 5 years
Pros
Nice and friendly workmates.
That's it.
Cons
1. While paying less and less (because of cost of living increases), more and more is required of faculty in terms of research, advising, needless paperwork. Most faculties teach 4 classes per semester starting Fall 2019, with multiple preps.
2. Ticket Benefits for westerners got reduced approximately from 9750 AED to around 6,000AED.
3. Education benefits reduced per child from 60,000 to 45,000 AED. If you have two kids, then the maximum is 60,000 AED. It was 120,000 AED two years ago.
4. Starting September, an assistant professor can teach 4 classes. However, according to an email from VC of A, if needed, they can assign an additional class without an over time.
5. Summer teaching is mandatory without compensation. The upper management refused to pay overtime during summer. Furthermore, this is not included in the contract.
6. HCT has no ranks among well-known universities, even in UAE. In fact, it is not listed anywhere. You would hurt your career if you joined them.
7. Rank promotion is NOT recognized among well-known and respectable universities.
8. Almost impossible to get a rank promotion, because they are making it very difficult due to financial reasons.
9. They sacked several faculties over a dispute with female students, even if the female student at fault. In fact, two faculty sacked. Avoid teaching in female campuses if you have to.
10. In summer, faculty are expected to work thirty hours per week, while other government universities are off for summer break. In fact, HCT is the only educational institution that forces faculty to teach in summer.
11. Faculty don’t have offices; instead; they reside in an open office environment. Similar to help desk cubic desks. A very noisy environment with no privacy. Students can walk among the cubicles freely.
12. You will always hear about happiness, yet; no one is happy with the upper management.
13. Any simple mistake can result in a warning letter; simply a work environment fear culture
HCT treats trained faculties like salves. This institution is doing great in demoralizing faculties and putting them down. The upper management constantly lies to you and practice every manipulation technique. HCT can modify the contract, which reflects negatively on your allowances. We lost a lot of our allowances (travel, schooling,…) due to changes that happened recently. Deans, division chair, and worst program coordinators have no control or say. As a matter of fact, administrators have more authority and influence than faculties.
Ironically, they are coming in July to recruit westerners. If you have any respect for yourself and your experience, don’t join this place.
Advice to Management
Start treating your academic with respect. Stop slashing benefits.
Any more news from our favorite House of Horrors, Suede?
10 years on, Kamali couldn't have done me a better favor than showing me the door and sticking an extra six-month's slave wages into my bank account.
Thanks, Tubby! xox
Unfortunately many unqualified people are running positions not only in the top management (not local BTW) .Many of them claim to have PhDs while they really don’t, yet they hold very critical positions that reflect on academic operations. HCT’s human capital has the mentality of school teachers and culture rather than higher education! Many hypocrites in the middle management don’t know what is the right thing to do...they can’t provide guidance!!on the other side, many qualified employees are hidden and in many cases are fought for speaking the truth out.
So who are these fraudsters with fake doctorates? I think we should be told, so please post that names on here!
Well, there”s Mad Melanie Gobert, with her PhD earned entirely by course work from a ‘prestigious’ institute in Arizona, I believe!
Who else knows of such fraudsters? Name them here!
C'mon guys - we're still waiting for those names. Let's shame those 'dodgy doctorates' in public!
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