About 1,000 government teachers in Oman relocated for new semester

Muscat: Almost a thousand government teachers have been relocated by the Ministry of Education in preparation of the new academic year 2017/2018, according to a ministry official.
“The Ministry of Education has completed the transfer procedure of 944 teachers to whom the transfer conditions applied to according to the available vacancies. There were 102 male and 842 female teachers transported,” Mustafa bin Ali bin Abdullatif, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Administrative and Financial Affairs, said.
Ministry’s goal
The undersecretary stated that the ministry’s goal is to return the teachers back to their hometowns as soon as possible.
“In light of the growing number of Omani teachers during the past years and the high rates of Omanisation in many subjects and the availability of many educational directorates, it was necessary in the framework of replacing the local cadres with the appointment of a number of teachers from outside their governorates.
“Especially in the high demand for the teaching profession, the ministry seeks at the end of each academic year to transfer these teachers back to their area of residence or close to the area, according to the vacancies available as a result of the increase in schools,” Abdullatif said.
According to the undersecretary, in order to achieve justice and transparency in the process, it is necessary to work on regulating the external transport process by “laying down the foundations and controls in accordance with the new Ministerial Decision No. 154/2016.”
A spokesperson from the ministry stated that teachers are not obligated to move locations, and usually tend to pay for everything themselves. “This happens every year. How it works is that the teachers apply to move locations and they rate the 11 governorates based on their preference. This year, 709 applicants received their first choice. We try to give them what they want but of course it all depends on the vacancies of that area.
“They are considered employees in the Ministry. Women tend to be designated more than men. Majority of female teachers tend to move after a year in their area. Sometimes they get married or are unhappy,” the spokesperson said in regard to the 89 per cent in female transferees.
Muscat governorate received the highest rate of transfer teachers at 298 in which 268 were female and 30 male. North Batinah came in at second highest at 177 transfers, in which 168 were female and nine male. The English language specialisation had 257 teachers, of whom 248 were female and nine male. According to the ministry, the First Field female transfers made up the highest amount of teachers at 276. The spokesperson stated that First Field is a term considered for grades one to four in which the instructor teaches Arabic, Islamic Studies and Social Studies.
Despite the popularity, the ministry reported that the above subjects taught separately were not as popular as the First Field combined. “There were lower movements of teachers in Islamic education, history, geography, school sports, and specialization of life skills,” according to the ministry.