Monday, August 25, 2008

Protests: Something you won't be reading in the papers it seems

Recent teacher training graduates from SQU have been holding a huge 'sit-in' outside His Majesty's paalace at Barka, going on for several days (and nights) now. Nothing reported in any of the papers, naturally.


You'll notice perhaps the lack of signs or banners. Ahhh, these guys and gals are smarter than that: that would officially constitute a protest, and leave them open to being 'moved on' by the ROP.


They are, with all due respect, seeking to ask HM for some assistance in their engagement with the Ministry of Education, in whom they have reportedly lost faith after years of unanswered letters, unkept promises and botched administrative systems. They are basically tired of being screwed around. They want jobs teaching in Omani schools, and none seem to be forthcoming.

This is not a common sight in Oman. Anyone with any more info?

7 comments:

  1. It's kind of common, but just not seen in the papers or anything of the sort as you said. Many times before people have protested to His Majesty and went in groups to his palaces hoping to meet him or at least get their messages delivered to him; whether in his royal yearly tours, or whenever he's abroad and coming back to the country. I guess this time they were waiting for His Majesty in front of his palace when he was arriving from his recent international tour. I've read in an Arabic forum that one of the special escorts of His Majesty just took the people's messages and promised to deliver them to Mawlana, and so they believed and left the place.

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  2. Several years ago the Ministry of Education was stupid enough to let too many people into teaching colleges without having enough schools to hire them afterwards. Omanis being themselves expect the government to do everything for them, so even though they were staying home for a couple of years now, all of these people have no plan to do anything at all and are just wait for the government to open up new schools for them!?

    Somebody needs to tell these people to move on, get some sort of qualification, help yourself and find a job.

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  3. I sympathize with the aspiring teachers; I also sympathize with pupils in many schools who report for class only to find their teacher has not turned up ; what is the solution?

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  4. Blue chi, when you are promised to get a job after wasting 4-5 years of your life studying for it. That is kinda crippling. You are right about the "Hey welcome to the real world" thing though ;).

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  5. It's like this in North America too, colleges and universities filled with students, all wanting and expecting jobs when they graduate, it's just not realistic that there are that many jobs.

    Skilled trades... all I'm saying.

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  7. i also heard about people protested to His Majesty and going to his palace. and its a common thing about Omani papers of not talking about such issues. Omani papers want to show us somehow that we are a very perfect country and such scenes could ruin this image.
    i think it's not only the ministry of education's fault but the ministry of higher eduacation as well.
    moreover, i think its the students, and their parents faults. in addition to students who joined the six education colleges and the private ones here in oman, hundreds went to study education abroad. lately, when squ closed the history and geography secializations, people objected and said what would those students who studied those two subjects at grades 11 and 12 do ?? well, they were told before to choose the subjects according to market demands, and if these specializations are opened they will complain later about not finding a job.
    and if they are really in love with these specializations they ca join the history and geography at the college of arts and social sciences.
    but for those who are already graduated and noe looking for a job. i think they should move and don't wait for the government, qualify themselves to the needs of today's market, they should search and search and search and i'm sure the'll find something, at least untill they get the teaching thing

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