January 2008
What they don't tell you about PPP
by Fireglo (contact admin of this site if you have any questions about this article)
The schools have major discipline problems. This is one of the reasons SABIS are here, i.e. to show them how a private company works. The majority of classes are in constant chaos and violence. The PPP is more of a civilizing project than an educational one.
80% of students are Emiratis who don’t want to learn; just talk and socialize in class. They have loads of money and therefore never have a need for education. All they want to do is ride camels and drive 4 x 4s.
There are lots of special needs students who require one on one education from experienced staff. SABIS believe they can teach them which is an enormous fallacy.
When you arrive to the country, they will not have your residence visas. The staff turnover rate is so high they won’t pay for the cost of obtaining the visa because the chances are you won’t last for a full year. Instead they will ship you over the border every 60 days to Oman. You will be working illegally for a period of time. This nulls and void any contracts you make with SABIS so don’t feel you have to follow this contract.
The average PPP staff last a few weeks. New teachers (some with experience of up to 30 years) can’t handle, a) the mismanagement from SABIS and b) the major discipline problems in the schools and leave just as quickly as they came.
SABIS had no people in charge of Human Resources for their PPP staff. So, everything is thrown into chaos. The flights are organized two days beforehand so you literally have a day to pack and leave. If you have a problem with a human resources issue (which you will undoubtedly have) there is no one to handle it.
PPP has no calendar. So, they will inform you the day before or week before of your holiday dates. The majority of people book before this causing them to leave earlier and SABIS will deduct pay at a higher rate if you do this, as per contract. I was not informed of my Christmas break holidays until a few weeks before so I booked them earlier and SABIS deducted a big chunk of my salary because the dates I booked were earlier than the official dates.
SABIS don’t care about their staff. You are slaves at their disposal. They will move you from accommodation to accommodation because staff of theirs constantly leaves. New staff are always arriving so you may wake up one morning to find that you have a new roommate or no roommate.
As teachers begin to drop like flies, they will try to move you from school to school as required and in turn try to make you move accommodation.
As some of their PPP clusters are in desert areas, the standard of accommodation is very poor. They will try to put you in the cheapest, dirtiest, most dilapidated place they can find. Failing this, they will put you in a fairly good hotel but your commute time will be nearly one and a half hours everyday.
The people in charge of PPP are morons. They have no idea how to deal with people or manage staff. It is the hard-working dedicated teachers, AQCS, RAQCS on the ground floor doing the dirty work that keep the schools running. The head management live in a different world.
I feel that people should be informed of these factors before they arrive.
Come to the PPP if you want
- an increase in blood pressure
- The ultimate teaching experience i.e. anything will be easier after this
- a test of endurance and strength
If you are naïve enough to think that this is all a lie or over-exaggeration then think again because it’s not and e-mail me if you have any questions.