There was a debate last week at my work place between colleagues about the issue of education and how the youth of Oman are reallybenefitting from it. On one hand, they have to go through a phase of finishing 12 school grades, of which, they hardly ever use afterwards in their real life (apart from those who graduate out of a number of a handful of private schools which give an almost perfect education that can be implemented for higher education purposes). So that would mean that they would have lost 12 years of their lives getting education out of almost nothing that has a prospect in future terms.
Then comes those who enter a degree that they don't wish to uptake because of parental pressure, and end up either losing out on 3 years of higher education (if it's a Diploma) or 4 years (if it's a BA/BSc Degree) studying something they don't like.
Then when they are hit by reality in the market; Government sector only employs through wasta (in most cases), the private sector wants to hire labor of whichever nationality at a cheap level so to bare their overall costs and at some times people who don't undertake higher education because of family issues or financial obstacles either get paid 180 Omani Rials for a job that could literally break their backs under a scorching sun, or stay at home because they realize that the effort put into finding an employment opportunity is far too tedious for them besides their small salaries or the beauracritic procedures that they have to follow to get their certificates signed, stamped and approved by the Ministry of Higher Education, then the deal with the Ministry of Manpower that requires that every Omani employee should have an Omani Labor Card that identifies where he works, what he gets paid as a wage/salary, and setting up his/her own retirement account at the Ministry of Social Affairs.
After knowing that all these procedures, it would not surprise me the least if someone didn't want to work at all.
And with the new establishment of e-government concept, would this mean that these procedures would all vanish to make it easier on the potential employee?
Thursday, April 27, 2006
J.O.B.
Posted by Sleepless In Muscat at 20:29
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3 comments:
wasting 12 years of your life getting an education? what? I could never have looked at it as a waste.
well in aspects of wasting your time in university getting a degree you dont want or intrested in, now that is a waste. you should major in something you are intrested in.
I would like to comment about the job situation in oman, but i don't know really that much about it, besides what i read on your post.
i've been attending a lot of career fairs and observing the market in the uae,and it has shown that you can b/s your way through an interview if you have really good english and land the job. thats kinda frustrating to take in. I say this from my point of view because that is really not logically. what about all those emiratis who are working soo hard in their studies, and they are trying to improve their english and you turn them away because their english isnt 'that great'. shame on you.
sorry for ranting.
Arabized:
well look at it this way.
in our schools in Oman, they study a lot of things that hardly mean anything to them in the practical life. apart from the languages and Islamic studies subjects.
but who in the hell would learn all these other subjects after they finish their school especially when almost all the schools in oman teach in the arabic language when they go to university they are given a crash course in english?
it just doesn't seem right to me? does it to you?
i know this comment is pretty late and it probably wont be seen, but its almost 2 am, and im depressed, so i have nothing better to do.
first, id like to reply to arabized, about the interviews and how they dont take people who havent mastered the english language. unfortunately we live in a developing world, and most peopple who graduate from private schools, have the money to stay abroad and find opportunities abroad, or decide to extend their education till the furthest possible degree maintainable to avoid comming back. the ones who come back are always grabbed by hi tech international organizations with low salaries - to be fair to the job market and putting into consideration the 'localization' of their salary rates.. (which is bull shit in my opinion bcoz we are so getting screwed). as for the poor kids who are struggling to read and write english, and learn by heart grammer books, and it takes them 3 hours to type 500 words on the computer.. these poor kids unfortunately will get minimum wages if they manage to acheive a diploma level and if they get a bachelor, they wont be paid more than 300, for obvious reasons. these poor kids will not be used or put in any positions that hold authorit, liberty or potential, they will be used as 'classy' labour - something a little bit better than actual manual labour. it sux and i agree with you coz when i was in college these pple were my friends and they are honest and hard working and sincere.. and they are the ones who made me realize what an amazing place oman in and how amazing omanis are. but this is life and it sux, and we cant do anything about it, soley because we are a developing country and the best of the best is needed for us to be on track with the race for globalization.
ANYWAY, onto the point where mr sleepless says that 12 years of education is a waste. here is where i have to disagree with you. education is not about what you learn in books, education is learning about life and developing yourself to become a productive member in society - regardless of what context we are talking about. these 12 years of school teach children discipline, teach children people ettiqute and it teachers kids the important lesson of all, which is, you have to do something u dont like to become something in life later on. education is not in books education is a mind frame, and in those 12 years, this child will come across teachers and older students that he or she will admire, and this will develop ambition and goals. the child will listen to the teacher talking about some great leader in islam 2 billion years ago and get inspired. the child will discover that he hates math, but he loves language. these 12 years is about giving you the constant opportunity to discover WHO U ARE or at least where you interests lie. when you go to college, and u study something not of your choice - well that could be dumb as the two of you have put it, but i disagree. i always wanted to study english literature and teach in a university. my parents could send me abroad to acheive my dream, but they put me in a local college (majan) and i actually studied business. something i had NO clue about whatsoever. but after my first year, i realized that it was very interesting and that i was actually learning something. why was i actually learning when in high school i never felt i learned something useful? maybe bcoz high school was too repetitive and mandatory, but in college, i was free to attend (or not) classes, to ask (or not) to show up on time (or not) and to actually the responsibility of handing in a peice of homework (assignment) given to me for 3 weeks! wow, the independence! i felt very grown up, and i decided that i liked it, and i deiced that i can do this, and i did, and my parents were very proud.
point is, its not that bad, and nothing is a waste, especially education, no matter what cover it comes in.
the next point. dealing with the accreditiation at the ministry of higher education and registering with the min of manpower blah blah blah blah. now this is where life begins. this is when you realize that just like u had to go to highschool for 12 years or else ur mom and dad are gonna beat your ass black and blue, here its much bigger. if you dont do these things you wont have a life and u will become a bum. u will probably die of obesity, and watching tv at the age of 30 or become a druggy and a crook. Here is where you show what sort of MAN or WOMAN you have become after 16 years of education (school plus uni). here is where you show that u have become responsible and that u know how to behave in a mature manner.
pple who dont bother doing all the official stuff (ministry stuff and watever) are not reliable and are a burden to society and they dont appreciate life. because if you want a good life, if you want to contribute to ur family and become a productive member of society, this is what you gotta do. so theres no point in complaning about, coz if you are, then u r not a serious person. end of story.
sorry for blabbering on...
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