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#1 Parent Ronald - 2016-01-29
Re: Cambridge CITC Sudan Teachers Beware!!!!!

Oh please spare the boards of the lies of Cambridge College England. Also spare us the so called legal action. The school would never take this to an international court and win. First all the dirty laundry they have. For example illegally trying to deport teachers after resignation, or barring them from the country when they have found a new job, or better yet putting an illegal clause in many workers contracts to pay a heavy fine for leaving before their contract is up. (Tentamount to slavery). Then they submid fraudulent credentials to their own education ministry. They never check up on whether or not their foreign staff have actually indeed taught. They copy Letts books and Cambridge Checkpoint books violating copyright law. Of course the actual Cambridge college has never not once conducted spot checks, nor has CIE, all these organizations are concerned with is making cash and nothing else. While these schools in sudan continue to use the name of Cambridge University like they are actually part of them to continue to deceive the public. They also conveniently employ people that use to be part of the educational ministry when they seem to be in actual trouble. Bottom line when these organizations get thie act together an actually make Cambridge pay for what it has done and actually obey laws of the land then it will be a safe place. Or they can actually hold the owner responsible for tye actions of the company in lovely old England now that he lives there most of the time.

#2 Parent Bethany Roberts - 2010-07-06
Re: Re Cambridge CITC Sudan Teachers Beware!!!!!

Further to my last - things are getting really bad! The bullying is continuing and this manager woman is now observing the teachers - what does she know? - and marking down her least favourites! Staff are leaving all the time. Requests for help to the GM are ignored. Never before have my friends been bored when teaching but being made to do 4 - 5 hours - without a break - of one subject is driving them to distraction. All so sad - they are excellent teachers and went because they thought they could do some good. I think they should get the hell out and work somewhere where they will be treated with the respect that they deserve!

#3 Parent Bethany Roberts - 2010-06-23
Re Cambridge CITC Sudan Teachers Beware!!!!!

Seems not all of this is untrue! I have friends working there now who are being bullied and victimised and can do nothing as no one cares. The bully has come from England as a manager but has no idea how to manage or work with people. she bullies the Sudani staff, who I believe are very nice people, and is rude and racist to them. She victimises English and American teachers because she is jealous of their abilities and popularity among the native staff. The Doctor in charge seems to have no interest in the well being and happiness of his staff - many of whom have given up well paid jobs to work there. He could have such a wonderful school if he would listen to the experts from abroad and stop employing evil bullies to manage the place.

#4 Parent JO - 2010-06-20
Re: Cambridge CITC Sudan Teachers Beware!!!!!

Hello
I have taught at this Centre in Omdurman and my time there was not very pleasant. Firstly they are extremely disorganized and too top heavy in management that have no knowledge in EFL or in the UK curriculum that they claim to teach, in fact what they teach is very loosely based on this. I witnessed parents being lied to about academic achievemrnt to results being fabricated to keep parents pleased. Whilst the owner used his daughter to test out official exam papers, before they were given out. Of course she always gained 100%. They main intent is to make money - nothing wrong with that at all, but when you are running an educational establishment this needs to be balanced out with delivery and they have not mastered how to do this.
The courses held at the main language centre are far to short, any qualified EFL teacher will know that courses should be delivered over a minimum 120hrs for an elementary course. They deliver there courses in 39hrs or 75hrs. Staff moral is low, with the owner expecting staff to be at his beck and call. It has to be said that most staff were smashing. The pay of local staff would be cut at the whim of the owners wife, who again knew NOTHING about education but was the principal for the school. Staff who gave notice were intimidated and found that money would be deducted from their salaries even upon giving notice, so staff that wanted to leave would just end up fleeing without telling anyone.
I could go on. CITC has the potential to be an excellent learning centre but it is NOT. I would advise all those thinking about working there to be careful if deciding to go there.

#5 Parent Teachertrev - 2010-02-18
Re: Cambridge CITC Sudan Teachers Beware!!!!!

I can truly say that what you have written Turnoi is the spot on with truth about CITC they are a waste of time and energy. The agency they use in England i have to say are not that great either. But while CITC are paying this agency why would they care about teachers views as long as they are getting their agents fees.

I would like to say it hasn't deterred me from wanting to teach in African states because its one of those places i have always wanted to teach in to help the African people. But i will truly say that CITC is an unbelievably incompetent Institution probably run by over confident corrupt idiots who have just wasted my time.

Regards

#6 Parent Roland Hannigan - 2010-02-17
Re: Cambridge CITC Sudan Teachers Beware!!!!!

After reading all these comments about CITC Sudan i find it amazing why this school is not closed down. But i suppose with all the corruption that this country has gone through over the years i suppose people can get away with anything. I was going to apply for a position there and i tried to contact them on there online chat room but they never answered my messages. I want to ask has anyone taught at this school an to get there feedback as you can only believe when you hear it at first hand. So if anyone has taught at this school then please repond on this forum as what i have read so far it has put a doubt in my mind already. Plus the fact their online chat room never gets answered.

Regards
Mr Hannigan

#7 Parent Teachertrev - 2010-02-16
Re: Cambridge CITC Sudan Teachers Beware!!!!!

Hello Everyone,

With having dealings with CITC lately i can truly say that they are the most incompetent people i have ever dealt with and i now truly believe everything that has been written on this forum about them. For anyone who is thinking of joining this company please be warned they are not a competent company to work for. There are plenty of other legitimate companies out there to work for but stay clear of CITC.

Regards
TeacherTrev

#8 Parent Venera Sejdiu - 2009-11-02
Re: Cambridge CITC Sudan Teachers Beware!!!!!

Hi there,

I lost Dr. Salah's email and as I was looking for his email online I found this website talkign about complaints towards CITC Sudan. I just wanted to say that I was working for CITC for 6 months and I just came back to Canada in august to go back to school. CITC is a legitimate and great institute. Before I went there I asked about 3-4 embassies and probably 10 people about Dr. Salah and the institute because it was my first time in Sudan and did not want to have surprises there. I got the visa, went and worked and enjoyed my time very much. I am back and still keep in touch with the institute. I wanted an extra week of holiday before the contract ended actually and Dr. Salah gave it to me so I can go to Europe and visit my family. If you want to ask about the school you are welcome to ask me ( and No, Dr. Salah did not tell me to write this post). I intend on going back to Sudan because I trully loved it.

If you still have doubts, then why don't you ask the British embassy in sudan aobut the school. I think Dr. Salah would welcome that as he has nothing to hide and CITC is one of the best institutes in Sudan actually ( I relized that after I went there).

thanks and all the best

P.S Sudanese are the kindest people I have ever met :)

#9 Parent Nicholas Kelly - 2009-09-07
Re: Cambridge CITC Sudan Teachers Beware!!!!!

I am replying to the offensive, threatening, pornographic, false and misleading information which makes a serious damage to our school and our GMs personal reputation, and still not removed from this web site.
Please take a look to this example:

------------------------------------------------------
Message (1) From a potential teacher ( Michael Brothwood) to Mr. David Lawson The Vice Principal Of Cambridge International College Britain.

>>> <michaelbrothwood@aol.co.uk> 24/08/2009 16:07 >>>
Dear David Lawson,

We wanted to ask you a question regarding the CITC School in Sudan.
We have read a few complaints about the school online and wondered if
you could clarify whether we should trust the school or not.
Any information you can give us about the school is most appreciated.

Kind regards,

Michael Brothwood

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Message (2) From Mr. David Lawson The Vice Principal Of Cambridge International College Britain to Dr. Salah Ahmed the General Manager of CITC Sudan

Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2009 09:12:07 +0100
From: Affiliates@cambridgetraining.com
Subject: AF1009 attn Dr Salah
Dear Dr Salah,

We have received a strange email from a "Michael Brothwood" asking about CITC and referring to some complaints being made about CITC. Do you know who Michael Brothwood is, and/or why he would make such enquiries? Please let us know as we are expecting to hear again from him soon.

Regards,

David Lawson
--------------------------------------------------------------

Message (3) From Dr. Salah Ahmed the General Manger of CITC to Mr. David Lawson The Vice Principal Of Cambridge International College Britain

gm@citcsudan.org 03/09/2009 11:49

Dear Mr. David,

Michael Brothwood and his partner Maria are a British couple supposed to come and teach in CITC.
After signing the contract and issuing of their visas they decided not to come because they read some posting in the internet forums against CITC.

All those negative postings were made by one of our ex teachers whom left CITC unhappy.

This unhappy teacher his name is

Calum J D Sutherland

Nationality British
Gender Male
Home Address (edited by Cambridge International College)

He was working as centre manager in 2005 - 2006 and we have a serious argues with him about many points of his way of managing the centre and he left after I sued him in the court.

He started to use any teachers forum in the internet to post negative things about CITC and against me personally.

We suffered a lot of his posting and I spoked to many of the webmasters of those forum and they removed some of it.

Because of his posting , many of our potential teachers changed their minds and refuse to work for CITC.

One of the main reason why I am coming to London on the 12 of this month is to find a lawyer and start legal action against him.

Best Regards

Dr. Salah Ahmed
The General Manager
Cambridge International Training Centers(Sudan)
Sister Institution of:
Ontario Canadian Co. Ltd.
P.O.Box - 15018
Code - 12217
Khartoum - Sudan
Tel - 249-183-244440 - 249-183-241220
Fax - 249-183-239352
Mobile - 249-91-2368231

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message (4)From Mr. David Lawson The Vice Principal Of Cambridge International College Britain to the potential teacher Michael Brothwood.

Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2009 13:22:52 +0100
From: DavidL@cambridgetraining.com
To: michaelbrothwood@aol.co.uk
Dear Mr Brothwood,

I have had a very speedy - and open, honest response - from Dr Salah; please see below. It appears that the online reports are from just one person and are of a personal, vindictive nature.

I have no intention of becoming embroiled in the legal matters indicated, but I will say this:-

- CITC has been a good Affiliate of Cambridge International College for many years (since January 2003, in fact);
- despite various regional political troubles in Sudan over the years, CITC has maintained its activities which, seeing as they are of an educational and career-development nature (at least where Cambridge International College is concerned) I think is a good thing;
- I have met Dr Salah several times over the years and have found him a serious and focussed individual; indeed, his forthcoming visit to London to deal with the statements on the website are evidence of that;
- I have been contacted by other teachers contracted to work with CITC, both before and after their teaching period, and have not received negative reports; indeed, the challenging nature of the teaching and the interesting location of CITC has been appreciated by them. However, having not been a teacher at CITC myself, I cannot advise or comment further other than what I have been told.
- Coincidentally, our recent Newsletter actually features CITC - please see attached.

I hope that the above allows you to form a positive opinion of the teaching opportunity.

Regards,

David Lawson

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please read more in:

http://citc-teachers.com

Nicholas Kelly
Deputy GM , CITC Sudan

#10 Parent ernst - 2009-03-10
Re: Cambridge CITC Sudan Teachers Beware!!!!!

Foreign Teachers DO NOT WORK FOR THIS PLACE. It is the worst disaster in every respect you will ever be able to perceive. Soft talk, lies, deception and idiocy describe it best! Extreme caution is advised

#11 Parent Jack Oneil - 2009-02-01
Re: Cambridge CITC Sudan Teachers Beware!!!!!

Hi! I have noticed that Cambridge (CITC) of Sudan are advertising vacancies again.

I have just returned from Sudan for the second time, only this time it was extremely premature, and feel that it is my responsibility to prevent other TEFL/TESOL teachers being subjected to the same arbitrary, extremely illegal and somewhat scary treatment that I was.....

I was employed to work at the new Cambridge centre in Bahri, Khartoum in June. I accepted the job believing it to be a reputable accredited scool. How wrong I was.
The school manager is completely useless at the best of times, he doesnt understand the importance of being allowed to prepare lessons at all, and the school is woefully low on resources (and staff). Staff morale is extremely low, and no matter how well you try to do your job, a consistently late driver, an overload of placement tests and bad management in general prevent you from doing so.

DO NOT TAKE ON ANY OVERTIME.....I took overtime and ended up working 25.5 hours a week. I left Sudan without seeing a penny of the $10 per hour I was supposed to get, but more of that later.....

I'm sure you all know that Sudan has banned the sale and consumption of alcohol in the North. This did not deter the General Manager at all, as despite being Sudanese, he often didn't perform well at work as a result of being drunk or suffereing a hangover. He also though nothing of turning up at my school off his head with staff and students present. Apparantly he has enough money that such behaviour does not matter. However, he treats the Sudanese staff extremely badly, and either cannot construct a sentence, or shouts it at the top of his voice.

On top of this, one of the other foreign teachers had not been issued with the appropriate visas despite having been there for 3 months. Uh oh I thought, as I realised I hadnt seen my passport for a month, and nobody would give me a straight answer when I asked if I had yet been issued with a work permit.

Now, as a result of this (not good for working environment, teaching, or general well-being), I handed in a months notice. My contract stated I had the right to do this, and actually also stated that if they found a replacement teacher first I had to sling my hook. Fine, I thought.

Unfortunately, The behaviour of the GM and other management, the lack of resources, the business before education attitude along with the multitude of smaller problems had led many staff members to leave, both Sudanese and foreign. For this reason they werent going to let me go easily, despite all assurances otherwise......This is where it got very messy......

The GM of Cambridge had issued me with a one month tourist visa in order to get me into the country. He let this expire, and so for 3 weeks, I was, in essence an illegal alien. Again, Sudan is the not place you want to find yourself in this situation. He also started to refuse to give my passport back, giving a variety of excuses including blatant lies. I was told that I would have to fly back to Vietnam (this is where I entered from). When I questioned this nonsense, he informed me the law says so. I made it very clear the law did not say so, and then my school manager announced that the law says the school must hold passports of foreign staff.

In Sudan it is an offence not to carry your identification with you at all times, as foreigners are sometimes stopped by the rather paranoid police. Again I informed him the law did not say this. They then backed down, and tried bribery as a tactic, refusing to give my passport back unless I agreed to work 2 more weeks / 20 days / until December progressively. (This is how desperate they are as a result of losing all their teachers). I was also told continually that I couldnt have my passport yet, as my exit visa was being sorted out.

What they did next was beyond belief, as they realised that I had been offered a job by a reputable school in Khartoum, which I was perfectly entitled to take as they had issued me with neither a work or resident permit. All of a sudden I was told my passport was ready and I could collect it from the airport when leaving. This was a bit of a shock, as I was not intending to leave. Instead they took it to the immigration police. Not just any department, but the department of investigation, where illegal immigrants get shipped!

IF Cambridge had operated on the side of the law, I would have been able to collect my passport and leave in order to take up employment elsewhere. However, upon entering the immigration office, I was told by rather-too-jolly policeman that I couldnt leave unless I brought a Sudanese person to vouch for the fact that I would buy a plane ticket and leave. What?? I exclaimed? To clarify he showed me the cell I would be sleeping in if it wasnt for the fact that somebody came to my rescue.

Basically, Cambridge had left me visa-less for 3 weeks. Not good. But they had also issued me with a ONE MONTH residence visa. (Bearing in mind that if this was legit it would be for 6 months - the length of my contract). It had been issued 3 weeks after I handed in my notice. This resident permit, sponsored by Cambridge, meant that I could no longer seek employment elsewhere. I had to leave. This prectice is actually illegal, and the GM could have found himself in Court over this. I consulted a lawyer, who informed me that if I wished he would represent me, as apparantlyCambridge have had legal action taken against them before for witholding peoples passports amongst other things. I was extremely angry at my treatment, and angry at the fact that Cambridge broke the law, yet I was being threatened with the cells. However, it just kept getting better.

The immigration police kept calling my school manager and asking him to come in and act as a guarantor so that I didnt have to be locked up. He refused. In fact nobody from Cambridge came in at all, seemingly happy with my being locked up for god knows how long. Malice? Calousness? I think so.

So I managed to wangle my way out of the immigration centre, and headed to my flat to pack my things so that I could stay with friends for my last few days. It was now obvious that despite the fact that I obeyed the law and fulfilled my contractual obligations I had to leave and Cambridge would get off scot-free. I returned to my flat to find that the GM of Cambridge, apparantly assuming I was locked up, had put a padlock on my front door to prevent anybody accessing my belongings. Another few hours of argument and headache ensued before somebody was sent to let me in.

Even when I had my flight ticket in hand, immigration would not return my passport. Instead I had to present myself to the immigration police at 2am so that they could escort me to the airport. When I finally got my passport back there was no exit visa in sight.

So.....allowing me to overstay my visa, issueing me with a resident visa AFTER Id handed in my notice (purgory), lieing, manipulating immigration staff (my school manager was constantly on the phone to the policeman interviewing me), locking me out of my flat and thus preventing me from getting to my belongings and not paying me my overtime. All this AFTER you consider the general bad practice that led me to hand in my resignation in the first place.

As mentioned before, this was my second time in Sudan, and I only have good things to say about the majority of the Sudanese people. They are very accepting, Khartoum is fairly comfortable, its easy to make friends, there are a few things to do, and the history and politics of the country is fascinating (obviously Darfur-aside, as there are also plenty of horrendous things going on within the country too).

If you want to go to Sudan go for it. Chanced are you'll enjoy it. BUT be very carefulwhich establishment you choose to work at, and my advice is AVOID CAMBRIDGE LIKE THE PLAGUE. Bad labour practice is an understatement, and the fact that everyone works 6 days a week in Khartoum, plus school hours are always worked in split shifts means your days pretty much revolve around the place. Better to be a little bit happy abroad at least!

Oh yeah, the Cambridge that accredits this place is actually some obscure set up on one of the British islands apparantly. Staff and students are not told this.

Take a look at Daves ESL Cafe for more from other ex Cambridge employees....

CITC Sudan

18 months ago there were complaints about CITC Sudan. These complaints were deleted from daveseslcafe after the GM of CITC Sudan put pressure on Dave.
Lets hope that the complaints below are not deleted; they are all genuine, as seen by the author. Many are just observations rather than complaints.

Accommodation

CITC advertise luxurious free accommodation please judge for your self.

1. On first arrival I noticed that the apartment was dirty, not just dirty but really filthy.
2. Water sporadic supply of water often no water.
3. Electricity sporadic supply of electricity often no electricity despite a generator.
4. Toilet does not flush (never did in 16 months)
5. Washing Machine very basic do it yourself job. Very dirty water.
6. Shower did not work (for the 16 months).
7. Cutlery a spoon and fork
8. Crockery - very old, filthy and very few
9. Kitchen Utensils virtually none. Begged for a tin opener.
10. Microwave oven - barely worked - very dirty stopped working
It took CITC Sudan 14 weeks to fix.
11. Kettle none I had to buy
12. Fridge Freezer apartment door broken never fixed despite repeated requests.
13. Iron none I had to buy
14. Ironing Board dilapidated I had to buy a new one
15. Bed very basic and uncomfortable.
16. Bed Clothes None - I had to buy
17. Curtains very dirty and badly ripped had to be removed
18. Clock Broken by a CITC employee (nephew of GM) never replaced.
19. Air Conditioning filthy, unhealthy and seldom worked.
20. TV promised International Channels and got 2 channels in English (one BBC)
21. DVD Player Did not work bought my own.
22. Taps in the kitchen leaked took weeks for them to fix.
23. Shower Never worked Used buckets, which I bought
24. Because of the poor workmanship of the windows and doors, the apartment was always dirty with dust/sand. (there are Sandstorms in Sudan)
25. Lights - most not working.
26. Cooker one ring worked sometimes (Had to beg for the free gas).
27. Telephone - never connected. Never worked.
28. Mobile phone promised one but, bought my own
29. Car promised in the contract got after 14 months!

Luxury? I guess its luxury if you come from Dharfur. (I have photos)

Academia/Foreign Academic Staff

1. The students, who paid a lot of money sometimes got photocopied books
Often got no books.
2. Programs marketed as elaborate blue ribbon courses in fact very basic.
3. Cassette recorders and audio tapes. Tapes copied and very poor quality.
Cassette recorders poor quality and not enough so teachers had to go without
4. Paper often shortages of A4 paper.
5. Additional Resources - Virtually none.
6. Marketing many lies told to the customer, leading to disappointed customers.
7. Classrooms designed to maximize profits very cramped too many desks and chairs often too large numbers of students.
8. Hours. Contracts were changed from 271/2 contact hours to 221/2 for foreign teachers in an attempt to attract foreign teachers. But this was abused at will
One teacher came to Sudan expecting 221/2 hours her contract was changed to 24
Then a few weeks later she was asked to work 27 and then a week later 311/2
And the GM had hinted that she would be asked to work more, she is probably working more now.
9. The schools (4) are marketed as Cambridge and the customer is mislead into
thinking Cambridge University, but of course it is not. It is some Cambridge
in the Channel Isles, that do not even have any controls by the UK ED Dept.
10. TVs and computers in the classroom, a few, but rarely work or are maintained.
11. Split-Shifts almost certain.
12. Transport to and from apartments (promised in contracts) there are often problems and frustrating delays in getting home or to work.
13. Medical Insurance Not renewed. Assistance in getting any is very difficult.
14. Favoritism. Some Foreign Teachers are given special treatment example given a car even a flight home mid-contract.
15. Visas and Work permits a nightmare. Endless delays and frustrations.
I had booked to go abroad. I warned the Administration (GM) 7 weeks before my flight.
I needed my Residency Permit and Multi-Entry Visa renewed It took so long
I never got the flight and had to book another a week later.
A young teacher from Europe had been waiting 7 weeks (had been living in Sudan illegally for 7 weeks) when she kicked up a fuss the GM chastised her and threatened her (told her she could have her passport back if she resigns)
He also chastised her Academic Manager, and threatened him too.
16. IT I mentioned some of this above But the computers, Internet, Photocopiers
and printers are a real frustration in all of the centers. When they break down
which is frequently it takes the IT staff (nephews of the GM nepotism) days weeks to fix.
17. Air Conditioners It gets very hot in Sudan 45c +. Often the Air Conditioners
dont work. This is very uncomfortable for some foreign teachers.

18. There is no adequate food and water in any of the 4 Centers
If you drink the drinking water provided you will be sick (All foreign teachers have been)
19. End of contract bonus As far as I know he has only had to pay it once !!!!

Management

1. Drunkenness. One of the major problems is that the GM is never sober.
2. Decision making. Most decisions are made by the GM and the quality
of the decision will depend on how much Johnny Walker Red Label he has consumed in the recent past.
3. Treatment of Sudanese staff. At times this is very disturbing to the foreign staff.
Turnover is extremely high. I gave one of the staff 100 US because she had been deducted 100 US from her salary because of a minor error that was in no way her fault. Staff are fired for virtually nothing. The staff beg from the foreign teachers.
4. Resource management is extremely poor (for a school that teaches management
subjects). A lot of money is wasted (Like on a dangerous trampoline or very breakable toys that last no time) and little money is spent on essentials recently a number of courses started with no books.
5. Knee jerk reactions much of the operations is done by knee jerk reactions to
Crisis.
6. Contracts and overtime. Contracts are given signed then taken back salaries
and then given to the teacher again.
Overtime lots of promises for you to do it. Big problems when you try to get
Paid.
7. Broken Promises. The GM makes lots of promises but very easily breaks them.
8. Rats. More than just the human kind. One came from under my desk and
actually jumped up at me.
9. Some of the management is ex-military. One of the classrooms (4 year olds)
has a poster glorifying the Janjaweed. For those that dont know the
Janjaweed are (glorified by the Turks (Arabs) in Khartoum) a militia
supported by the government that are murdering, raping, thugs. (Dharfur,
Southern Sudan and even Northern Sudan can testify to that).
One ex-Janjaweed that was working in the Department of Agriculture
Proudly told me he had killed 41 people himself in Dharfur.

Do you really want to work for CITC Sudan ?

#12 Parent SSarmstrong - 2009-02-01
Re: Cambridge CITC Sudan Teachers Beware!!!!!

If you want to teach in Sudan, do so as it is an interesting place, the people are warm, generous and friendly and the students are eager and motivated and polite.

However do NOT accept a job with Cambridge International Center as you will only leave in a short time disillusioned and fed up with the behaviour of the drunken owner.

Staff turnover is high and the average length of time for a teacher staying seems to be less than 3 months which gives you a pretty good indication of how bad things are there.

He is only concerned with making money and how to make that at any cost. Staff are there just to make money for him and once he has your name on a contract he doesnt really care about you, unless you want to leave and then all hell breaks loose and things turn really nasty. He will take money off you for things like visa costs etc but can never produce any real costs that he has incurred.

He has trouble with his decision making as a decision will be made one day then changed the next day. This is confusing for staff as well as frustrating.

He surrounds himself with many family members who work for him and whose main job seems to be to spy on the local and foreign staff (the owner even has 4 or 5 security cameras installed in the Khartoum branch so he can sit in his office spying on the staff).

It is not uncommon for the local staff to have their meager wages cut on the say so of one of the family members, who often just invent something to get back at the nice, hard working staff member (usually because the family member has been shown up to be incompetent, has lied and been caught out, or is just lazy).

Teachers are employed on a 39 hour contract over 6 days with up to 27 teaching hours Note these are full hours, not 45 or 50 minutes classes as in other countries and you are meant to get paid overtime if you exceed your weekly teaching hours. There are always excuses as to often why this overtime isnt paid.

There is a bonus offered for staying a year but no one has heard of anyone staying that long so dont know whether you will be paid it or not. There will be probably be a reason invented for not paying it as there is with other things, like overtime, airfare refunds etc etc.

If you do decide to go there check that you are not given a student visa as it seems he is trying to do now (it is probably cheaper). Working on a student visa is highly illegal and you will end up in serious trouble with the authorities.

There are better places to teach at in Sudan, where you will be valued, respected and treated well as well as being paid a fair wage for your teaching.

#13 Parent Carry Grant - 2009-01-25
Re: Cambridge CITC Sudan Teachers Beware!!!!!

I have had personal experiences with this institute and have realised that the teachers who do their job and behave like educators both at work and in their private lives, have a good experience.

If you are lazy, unqualified and spoilt chances are you will land up being unhappy and/or fired from any language institute or school anywhere in the world.

I recommend to teachers out there to be prepared to focus on their work and to all the party animals out there, this is not the place for you!! The staff are friendly and generally more protective of you if you are a foreigner here and I would recommend working for this institute if you are a dedicated educator not a high flying individual who is looking for a permanent party or a "free lunch"!

So good, respectable, trained and loyal teachers are rewarded and treated justly and very fairly. I would recommend this institute just be prepared to work hard and not sleep on the job!!

A teacher!!

#14 Parent catch7 - 2008-12-06
Re: Cambridge CITC Sudan Teachers Beware!!!!!

Do your research before you take a decision about where to go and teach..Yes shine a light ,but not necessarily with Lrom53 who just had his own lesson . I'm not talking about that school but from what you said it sure sound tricky, anyway it's more about this part of the world.. teachers who don't know..Sudan is under the Sharia law so you have to respect that as you are in a Muslim country..Just to give you an idea, last year a woman from England who was a teacher in Khartoum was accused of insulting Islam because she let her own students name a teddy bear "Muhammad". The teacher was lucky anyhow 2 weeks in jail since that she was facing very harsh punishment as to up to 40 lashes, six months in prison and a fine.So keep in mind Sudan is not China..
so stick to your guns...

#15 Parent CITC Sudan - 2008-12-05
Re: Cambridge CITC Sudan Teachers Beware!!!!!

Unfortunately CITC had a few not good teachers, who'd left with a bad experience and instead of going on with their own life's, they chose to ruin the reputation of the school by writing abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, and threatening language, on online forums. Without going in details in each case separately, those teachers violated the ethics and moral code of the school and the Sudanese people traditions, in incidents varying from in job intoxication, illegal sexual activities, sexual harassment and breaking the rules of the contract.

To live up to its expectations, adhere to its ethical standards and to the benefit of other teachers and students CITC, did the necessary actions and eradicate those bad apples. CITC is a prominent, very well respected school and it has no time for these kind of cheap and ludicrous talk.

At CITC we try our best to accommodate foreign teachers with the best experience during their employment period. CITC believes in providing a comfortable, healthy and open minded environment to all our employees, because it's essential, to achieve the best results for the teachers and the students.

Sudan is a third world country, it has its own infra structure issues and developing issues. There is electricity shortage, weather is extremely hot, technology isn't in every day to day life, things can not be done as fast as in the western world and the Sudanese mentality is relaxed and laid back. Having said that, Sudan enjoys a very diverse harmonize very kind and helpful people. CITC provides its western teachers with the most comfortable accommodation and transportation and the best teaching tools. The weather, as I have mentioned is hot all year round except during the winter time, which is like spring in Europe, but off course school and teachers residence are very well air conditioned as well as the transportation means.

There are places for foreigner to visit such as the ancients pyramids in the north of the country, African animal safari in Dindir Zoo and the southern part enjoys a European life style in a equatorial weather. People of Sudan are very sociable and very friendly, but again, teachers applying to come to Sudan have to be open minded and be tolerant to other cultures and traditions. Sudan is a Muslim country and there are many behaviors that are not acceptable by the people and the law. For instance drinking alcohol is prohibited by law, but indeed there are exceptions to westerners as long as they drink in their residence without causing any disturbances to the public or to the residents. Illegal sexual activities are also prohibited, but again, as long as there is good intention relationships, that can be done in privacy, it's no one business as long as it's discreet and just limited to the two parties.

Foreign teachers can enroll in foreign social clubs (American Club), sports clubs (swimming club) and musical clubs (learn music). Social life is lively exist, but again it's all up to the teachers and how intolerant he or she to other cultures and traditions.

CITC have employed more than 400 foreign teachers since 2003. Most, from the English native speaking countries such as U.K, U.S.A, Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc.. It is not surprisingly to have 3 or 4 teachers that did not have a pleasant experience or had a not good relation with CITC. On behalf of CITC, I regret that and I believe it was unfortunate, but as much as CITC tries hard to provide what it can do to it's teachers, it can not please everyone. Every teachers experience is different from the other and it's up to the applicant on the first place to gather more information about the country and the culture.

CITC offers lucrative contracts to experienced and qualified teachers, and our expectations are high. We expect all teachers to abide by the signed contracts, school rules and respect the culture and traditions of the country. The school will not tolerate any misrepresentation, misconduct or any misbehavior.

On behalf of CITC, I invite all interested, open minded teachers to visit our informative web site
www.citc-teachers.com
and read about the school, the country, testimonials and what we offer. I Thank you for taking the time to read and we are always happy to hear from you.

Thank you,
CITC Management

#16 Parent catch7 - 2008-12-05
Re: Cambridge CITC Sudan Teachers Beware!!!!!

Who in it's right mind would even think about legal procedure...alllooo this is Sudan.. President Bashir
is almost in front of the un court is Darfur ring a bell.. I visited Sudan, volunteering would have been more of the right thing to do there. Anyway if I was you I would just go up north to Egypt and take a few days off on the nile..you surely need that..

Lrom53 - 2008-12-02
Cambridge CITC Sudan Africa Teachers Beware!!!!!

I will be willing to attest to what I am about to say in a court of law. I am currently a teacher with Cambridge CITC Sudan, all I would like to do is warn all TEFL/ESL teachers away from this establishment. Let me start by letting potential teachers what has happened to not only myself but every foreign national that has been hired by this establishment. Firstly they tell you and promise you in your contract that you are provided with transportation to and from work, a flat, utilities, visa, and eating utensils. Well if you live in one or two kilometers they will tell you to walk, the flat is nothing more than a manky old cave, utilities are another story, if you need water or electricity, you have to beg, plead, then finally threaten physical violence or legal actions, your visa is another joke first it is temporary, then they let it expire making you an illegal immigrant plus they do not give your passport back without a fight. (basically you have to get your embassy involved and more lawyers). As far as every day eating utensils are concerned good luck on that one maybe one or two of the very, very basics and of those they are broken or will break very easily.Then there is the promise of over time which they will never pay you for or the bonus that they promise but never pay for. The management and owners are completely unqualified (unless you consider the online degrees they have bought) and drunkards(the owners favorite is Johnny Walker Red Label), of course this is in a country were any liquor is forbidden. Then there is the school itself, The students are usually charged up to 6 months worth of salary. If the students can not afford copies of the books no problem, The schools will make illegal copies of either the Headway series or the Skill's in English series for the students including bootleg copies of the tapescripts for about 75% of the original price. The hours for teaching are atrocious, first off you will be working a split shift 6 days a week 12 hours a day. Forget about the every other weekend they promise you. The students get taught general English from the Headway series in 54 hours every other day for 1.5 hours at a time (every other reputable establishment 100 hours). The skill's in English is offered as a communications course.(of course Terry Phillips himself totally denounced this usage of his book) Then the school expects you to teach without any supplementation, or lesson planning of any type. If you need to do it don't even bother the school will try to charge the teacher this expense. This is nothing but an abortion of education. I would not wish this establishment on my worst enemy let alone Satan himself. I have a post on the new tefl blacklist and TEFL Watch as well. I also Have a myspace page were I took the phony defence letter that the management has posted, and I totally ripped it apart.

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