You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy Obi Wan Kenobi

Academic integrity of school

Wow. After spending several years at Al Maha, Ive almost forgotten about the concept of
academic integrity. This is a school where important decisions on things like what textbooks or
resources to buy are made not by teachers, but by completely unqualified and often rather lazy
administrative staff. In all my time at the school I did not witness or hear of one instance where
a teacher was asked their opinion on what scheme of work or resources would be best for the
students. Instead, boys who could barely read English were presented with textbooks that
featured entire pages of text. Couple the poor choice of resources with a complete lack of
awareness of the learners needs and shocking decisions/oversights such as placing the children
on an English-first-language course rather than an EFL or ESL one and you have a recipe for an
unmitigated disaster.

Children with Special Educational Needs are tragically under-catered for. The staff in the
schools SEN unit - the Knowledge Centre - are absolutely fantastic and showed a passion for
their work which was admirable yet heartbreaking to see. Highly trained and dedicated staff
repeatedly came up against brick walls thrown up by management and impassioned pleas for
help in school meetings repeatedly fell on deaf ears. In order for a child to be accepted into the
SEN department, they needed the permission of their parents. Due to a desire not to lose face,
many parents simply refused their children the opportunity to work in a more suitable and
nurturing environment. This led to situations where children who were at Reception or Year 1
level were promoted into Upper Primary despite not being able to write their own names, read a
4-word sentence or discern between an addition or subtraction problem. Due to the ludicrous
grading procedure, children who needed specialist intervention in a subject were often given A
or B grades in Lower Primary only to fail the subjects once they arrived in a class where the
teacher had at least a shred or professionalism and integrity. You can imagine the responses this
garnered from parents.

In a country which suffers terribly from obesity (approx. 35% of the population) and diabetes
(17% of the population), you would expect Phys Ed to be a major focus. Conversely, the PE
dept. is woefully inadequate. Staff seem to be inadequately trained and PE lessons simply
consist of the fit boys playing football whilst the overweight and obese children wander around
the school or sit on chairs outside playing with their phones. The PE staff disregard
fundamentals of child care and simply let the boys do what they want without a care in the
world. Staff can often be seen sitting and playing on their own phones, not even bothering to
pretend that theyre giving a lesson. Children who have not taken part in one PE lesson and who
are dangerously overweight magically attain A grades come the end of the year. The school is
severely lacking in PE facilities and only has one small, inadequate playground area to cater for
the whole of Key Stage 2 and Secondary PE lessons and breaks. There is no football or cricket
pitch and the school does not take part in the multitude of nationwide sporting events which take
place in Qatar. There are inter-school olympics and numerous football, basketball, swimming,
handball and other tournaments that the pupils miss out on. Shame.

The assessment in the school is laughable. There is an assessment coordinator but I am
completely oblivious as to how she has attained such a position as she does not appear to have
the first clue about education. The school employs an A-F system of grading which is criminally
outdated and woefully implemented. Many teachers have pleaded with management to bring in
levelling as practiced in the UK (the school claims to use a British Curriculum although
curriculum documents are nowhere to be seen) but those pleas have been roundly ignored. The
reason/excuse given was that the change would just be too hard for the parents to manage. Bless
them. The grading system is pointless as it is completely undermined in two main ways: 1) The
grades are routinely fiddled with. Managerial dictats such as no child will get an F ensure that
children who need the most help will not get it because their poor performance will be masked
by doctored grades. 2) The grade boundaries are ludicrously high. Bearing in mind that general
academic performance by students is low, a C grade requires a student to get an overall 70%
grade for the year. This is overwhelmingly based on their performance in written tests.
Therefore, a student who suffers with their reading will not be able to read the questions in their
maths or science papers and so is destined to perform poorly in these subjects regardless of their
actual ability. At the end of Year 6, students sit external exams monitored by the Cambridge
exams Board and it should come as no surprise to anybody that the results in these exams can
best be described as diabolical. The poor children. You can imagine what happens when they
progress through the school and have to analyse poetry and Shakespeare

Effectiveness of administration

It depends on how youre judging effectiveness. They are very effective when it comes to
firing people but woefully ineffective when it comes to running a school. The disciplinary
matters discussed in other reviews here could be fixed with strong management. Indeed, as
others have mentioned, the appointment of Osiur Rahman as Principal saw a definite upturn in
the running of the school and staff morale increased as a result. However, just as he was starting
to effect a positive change in the school, he was moved to Al Jazeera Academy and much of his
good work was lost. The current principal is a very likeable and affable man who comes across
as genuine and sincere. However, the job seems like it may be a bit more than he can handle.
This is not a criticism of the man himself, more of the appointment. The school needs strong,
visionary leadership and the principal lacks the charisma and force of character which I feel is
needed to drive the school forward. The VP is a very ambitious man who will not hesitate to
stab you in the back or put you down in front of other members of staff. The school has recently
lost an outstanding Deputy Head of Primary who showed great dedication to his work as well as
an impressive knowledge of educational practices and principles. However, he was simply too
good and was therefore a threat to the established hierarchy and so was disposed of. Thats a
great shame as I felt he would be a real asset to the school. The VP is a good tactician who
appears to be an expert in self-preservation and I suppose that has to be admired in some ways.
He will however, have absolutely no qualms with dirtying your name behind your back or simply
making up lies about you in order to divert blame. One teacher left after enduring numerous
difficulties with being granted leave after the death of his father. After he refused to come back
to the school, staff were told that he had in fact made up the story about his father dying and
simply didnt want to come back because he couldnt handle it. Thats low.

Perhaps the best indicator as to the effectiveness of the administration is the startling fact that in
the previous academic year, there was not a single fire drill. Not one. Zero. Any trained teacher
will know that the top priority of any school is to ensure the safety of the children and given the
abundance of fires in Qatar and the 2012 tragedy where a number of children were tragically
killed in a fire at the Villaggio mall, a fire drill should have been a no-brainer. Coupled with
this, a number of fire doors in the school as well as the school gates were actually locked shut.
The place is a death-trap and I sincerely hope that this is rectified for the next academic year
because the lives and both students and staff are at risk and this needs to be remedied. This was
brought up by a year leader but he was actually disciplined for putting his concern forward in a
tone which was deemed inappropriate. Go figure.


Academic and disciplinary support provided

You need only read the other reviews to see how poor discipline is in the school. The majority
of the Qatari students simply have no respect for teachers as they have been raised appallingly by
their parents. Oh, wait. I said that their parents raised them. Thats wrong. Their parents are
very laissez-faire and leave such menial tasks as raising children to their slaves oops, sorry
again their servants. I witnessed children abusing, spitting on and beating their drivers and
nannies (yes, teenage boys with proto-moustaches have 4-foot Filipino ladies carrying their bags
and picking up after them pathetic) and this behavior sadly continues into the classroom in
many cases. Respect is a foreign concept and some of the kinder-natured and well-raised
students (usually non-Qatari pupils whose parents have actually had to work for a living and
understand the importance of education) are picked on ruthlessly. Many teachers spoke to the
parents of such students to recommend that they take their children elsewhere for the sake of
their education. What a sorry state of affairs.

Director's involvement in academics

Ah, Dr. Mohammed Saefan; a man more concerned about his image and pompous sense of
importance than with the wellbeing of the staff and students under his care. Everything that
needs to be said has already been said. An egotistical narcissist who has done nothing to
advance the school and who simply stands in the way of progress. He has obviously convinced
Mr. Mannai, the CEO of Taallum and Mr. Saad, the owner, that he is good at his job and so he
will remain in place and will continue to collect his outrageous salary whilst imparting his pearls
of wisdom to bemused and frustrated staff.

Fair and equitable treatment by board and director

The CEO and the director are completely ambivalent to the needs of the staff. As mentioned in
previous reviews, Mr. Mannai chaired a number of meetings to address problems the staff were
having and when he wasnt stopping the meeting to answer his phone (how professional!)
and simply washed his hands of any responsibility. None of the issues, he said, were his
problem. Simple as that! That is about as fair and equitable as the treatment Taallum dishes out
gets.

School has adequate educational materials on hand

The school employed an utterly useless dogsbody in the role of resources co-ordinator a job
usually performed in a school by a cupboard who was aloof and often completely unhelpful to
the point of rudeness. Need some rulers for a maths exercise? 5 per class. Need some pencils?
Fat chance. Any resources (posters, blu-tac, countersanything) had to be obtained by
subterfuge. Teachers would routinely check to see if store-rooms had been left unlocked and
when they were, the word got out and they were raided by desperate staff. Do not be fooled.
The school DOES have resources. Its just that rather than being given out to HELP
CHILDREN LEARN, they are kept under lock and key for reasons unknown.

Attitude of local community towards foreigners

I encountered many different views in my time at the school. Some locals were very welcoming
whilst others were overtly hostile. One parents told a colleague of mine that the US was the root
of all evil and that the country needed Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda to sort things out. Of
course, he said this whilst wearing a Rolex and $2000 shoes. The younger generation are very
westernised and the country at large is incredibly consumerist. A large number of Qataris (sadly,
the vast majority of those I and my friends and colleague encountered) are not so much hostile to
foreigners as simply possessed by the idea that Qataris are the master race; the chosen people and
everyone else is way below them in the pecking order. You will watch slack-jawed as you wait
in a queue only for a local to push past everybody and demand to be seen first. Out of fear for
their jobs, staff working in malls and restaurants will give in to their childish and ignorant
demands. You will routinely find Qataris flaunting the traffic laws, smoking where it is
forbidden and generally demanding special treatment because it is their country and everyone
else is only a guest. I would love to see the look on one of their faces if an English person
barged them out of the way when they were on one of their shopping trips to London, only to be
met incredulously with a look of disgust, a nonchalant flick of the hand and the phrase, my
country.

It is very sad that many people leave the country with a low opinion of the locals as I met many
Qataris who were open, good-humoured, self deprecating and welcoming to foreigners. I met
several locals who spoke openly at the shame they felt at the behavior of many of their
countrymen and several of my Arab colleagues felt pushed to apologise for their behavior and
implored me and others not form a negative opinion of Arabic people and culture based on the
behavior of the nouveau-riche residents of Qatar.

Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable)

Qatar is an expensive place. You can save money if you limit the amount of socializing you do
but at Al-Maha, your social life is what keeps you sane. I am fortunate enough that I do not take
alcohol on a regular basis because drinks are extremely expensive. Food is also a major expense
if you like home comforts. However, if you enjoy Indian or Nepalese food then you can eat like
a king on a very limited budget. Sadly, some people wont be seen dead socializing with
construction workers and taxi drivers and it is their loss.

Satisfaction with housing

Housing in Doha is massively overpriced and you will pay $1500 for a very modest apartment in
a dirty area of town. The schools housing allowance may cover a furnished 1-bedroom
apartment in the city but not one in which you would want to live in. Accommodation on the
outskirts is available at a more reasonable rate although you trade the convenience and
atmosphere of a more central location. I lived in school-provided accommodation which was
perfectly adequate for my needs.

Community offers a variety of activities

Doha is a city which you must attack. There is plenty to do but you must be proactive. If you
wait for opportunities to come your way then you will be stuck in your apartment for the
duration! Make use of facebook groups and local websites to find out whats happening as event
promotion is shockingly bad. You will usually find out about an event after the fact so keep your
eyes peeled and your ear to the ground.

There are frequent sporting events which provide a welcome break from the norm and tickets are
usually cheap. Really, you can spend as much or as little as you like in Doha. There is no
shortage of luxury hotels at which to spend your hard earned cash but if you like a quitter life
then there are a number of public beaches dotted around the country and you can take part in
outdoor activities when the weather permits. There is an annual golf tournament, a Moto GP
race, a local professional football league which attracts some big [over the hill] names, a local
rugby club, ATP and WTA tennis tournaments featuring the big-name players, powerboat racing,
volleyball tournaments, ice hockey. You name it, its here.

Availability and quality of local health care

This varies greatly. There is a large, free public hospital but waiting times are astronomical and
the staff are not great. Some of the private hospitals are much better but many locals still travel
abroad for important procedures. Youre best off checking which hospitals are covered by the
schools health plan because they are VERY expensive.

At first, the school health insurance was comprehensive but didnt include dental cover. It was
then altered so that dental was partially covered at the expense of things like maternity insurance
(sorry ladies!). At some point in the last year, the policy was altered WITHOUT STAFF BEING
INFORMED and so people visiting hospital were left with a nasty surprise when they were
asked to hand over significantly more money than they were expecting. The schools sickness
policy dictates that you will not be paid unless you have a medical note from a doctor. There are
no GP surgeries so in order to get one you need to go to the hospital. Eaten some dodgy food
and have diarrhea? Sit in line at the hospital for 2 hours to get a note you get the idea.

Family friendly / child friendly school and community

The school is not a particularly child-friendly place (no fire drills, lack of resources and facilities
etc.) and the local area has little for children to do outside of the malls. Outside green space is at
a premium although the government is working to improve this. Many expat children will grow
bored quickly unless you find them things to do on off days. There are activity groups and such
but they can be very expensive.

Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel

The schools HR department is an absolute nightmare to deal with and is staffed by some of the
most incompetent people I have ever come across. I would not give some of these people a job
flipping burgers, never mind dealing with peoples passports and visas! Visas need to be
renewed every year and this requires you to surrender your ID card and passport to the HR
department. The actual process takes around a day to complete but you will be waiting much,
much longer!

Qatari bureaucracy can best be describes as Kafkaesque. You know what you need to do and
you have some idea of how to do it but somehow, you end up in a seemingly hopeless situation
in which you are sure there is some sort of malevolent force at work whilst simultaneously being
made to believe that perhaps it is all your own fault. Staff at the visa office or police station will
direct you to buildings which are closed during normal working hours or which simply do not
exist. When obtaining your driving license you will be told that documents 1-3 can be filled in
and handed in at the desk whereas document 4 can only be completed at a building on the other
side of the town which can only be accessed during a full moon and even then, you must answer
the gatekeepers riddle before youll be allowed in.

Sadly, everything is a battle (including getting paid on time) and you must simply prepare
yourself accordingly. One of the best pieces of advice I was given was to pester people until
they are so sick of you that they will do what you want (i.e. THEIR JOB) just to get rid of you.

Extra curricular load is reasonable

Forget reasonable! Try non-existent! Perhaps the biggest perk of the job is that you rarely need
to take work home with you. Staff are required to stay an extra hour at school after the kids go
home so you have plenty of time to do your admin after school so you can go and earn large
amounts of money doing tutoringsorry I mean go home and watch TV.

Security / personal safety

Crime is very low due to the severity of the punishments on offer for breaking the law. This is
one of the major perks of living here in Qatar. General safety on the other hand is a different
matter. The roads can be very dangerous due to the outrageously bad driving on show. The
vehicle of choice is the Toyota Land Cruiser which is a huge 4x4 which will crush anything in its
path should it get into an accident. The death toll is abnormally high and it is not unusual to see
accidents or the remnants of smashes on the side of the streets. Fires are also a common problem
and the poor maintenance of things such as gas pipes, fuel reservoirs, electrical wiring etc. and a
general lack of safety-awareness in the culture mean that you need to keep your wits about you at
all time. Dont walk without looking where youre going because you could easily fall into a 20-
ft hole in the middle of the street.

Overall

In summary, I would not recommend anybody come to this school. This is despite the fact that a staff
shortage would mean more work for the returning teachers. I simply cannot invite anybody else to come
and join in the suffering. That said, there are positives here. The teaching staff are on the whole great
people. There is a great camaraderie here and whilst some people seek to disrupt the harmony I am
thinking in particular of the recently demoted, poisonous, vindictive and manipulative head of KS1 the
staff are a close-knit bunch. I can see why soldiers who go to war form such strong bonds! Though many
good people have now left, there are still some wonderful people left and it is they who are the one
shining light in an otherwise dark world. The school is not without hope of salvation and I am praying
that the new additions to the management team can affect some change. There are some poisonous weeds
which need to be uprooted and with strong leadership and a clear and consistent behavior policy and
curriculum, the school could use the opportunity it has in the worlds richest nation to become a
legitimate educational organization. Until then, the good fight will continue to be fought in the face of
adversity.