Family accommodation at PNU

Hello! PNU does have single and married housing. They are nice fully furnished apartments located on the campus.There are small playground areas as well but the campus is a bit far away from other recreational areas.  Also you must consider that it may take time to bring your family over. The campus is secure as well.

Thank you!

So if PNU were to offer someone a "married" or "family" status contract, would they get the family apartment from the beginning? Or would they have to live in the single apartments until they bring their spouse and/or family over?

If you email the housing division, they will provide you with an application form and information about what is on offer. PNU also has a daycentre too which I was chuffed to hear about as my 3 year old will be attending

PNU housing is not automatic. It is very limited and subject to several conditions.

You will not be able to get housing at PNU unless you are single or, if you are married, your husband provides a certified letter from his company that his company will not provide you with housing for all of you, i.e. that your husband gets single housing only.

Getting family housing is almost impossible right now because of the conditions. Also, they are trying to get more Saudis on campus which is completely understandable, but may make it difficult for expat teachers.

So where would they place a teacher with a small child?

Theoretically, you would have your own apartment. However, they've basically stopped doing this. They were doing it just at the beginning for a few and with very strict conditions.  So many have been trying, but nothing doing.

Their daycare is very overcrowded and the children are extremely neglected. I personally know 2 teachers who refused to put their children in daycare because of the conditions. Also, if you work past 4, which could happen, you would be responsible for childcare. 

You might want to explore outside daycare, to be honest.  If your child is over 3, you could do the preschool and try to find someone on campus who is willing to look after your child. Or, you could get a maid/nanny.

Questions for peony345- do you currently work for PNU? If so and the working hours etc are so awful, why are you still there?! Or is this just a way for you to scare off competition?!

I'm tired of reading negative comments about the experiences of a minority- what they're essentially doing is putting off people who hope to come and save.

From what I hear about PNU and my own experience of contacting the housing division, contracts team etc they are very helpful. So far, what I signed for on my offer has been re-confirmed via email. Other sources have also reassure that obtaining housing is NOT an issue if discussed prior to signing the contract. It is then followed through without much of a hassle.

Re cover etc, well if you're used to working a 9-5 anywhere in the world, you'll know what working full time feels like. IF you've been fortunate not to have worked your whole life and have had surplus cash to muck around with then YES adapting to work hours will be a challenge- including the covers!

The majority of those you hear who have good experiences in Saudi are people you meet face to face or get to know through a friend, not people on blogs who spend a their free time moaning!!!

What I would say to those who are considering a move to Saudi is come, try it out, if you don't like it no one is holding you hostage!!

Rant over.

Hi Ladylay,

Your optimism is refreshing. I hope it works out for you at PNU and that you enjoy it! There are some who don't mind the huge amount of work and they are doing fine. If you don't mind working very hard and following directives without any input, then you'll be fine too.

The facts I gave you are simply that - facts. In our ESL program,  management now officially recommends that teachers teach 7 classes  per week i.e., 21 periods with about 50 students in each period. Some colleges have less. There is no guarantee for you. Any teacher who teaches less than 21 periods is flagged as having less than 7. You can still be required to substitute an additional 7 periods a week.

The only other choice is PYP. If you teach in the PYP program, that is a whole different ballgame. PYP teachers are even more controlled and must inform their Lead Teachers of all movements. They need permission for just about everything except to use the Ladies' Room. I am absolutely not exaggerating.

There have been some cost-cutting measures that have affected us as well. Management is trying to reduce staff and they don't hesitate to do so.  For example, a teacher on 5 classes at the beginning of the term was flagged. (Saudi) management told the (expat) administrators to "redistribute the teacher's classes to those with only 6 classes and then get rid of that teacher. However, our department somehow managed to keep her, I don' t know how. Stress levels are quite high in our department and there is not much communication between teachers and upper management. We really don't even know who they are and have never seen them.

As for my situation, and why I'm still here - I have my own personal reasons. It is not by choice. Last time I checked, we were not obligated to disclose to perfect strangers why we do the things we do. I can assure you, I am not at all not worried about competition.      PNU hires and fires left and right every year. They are not at all invested in their expat teachers. I think that if you try to convince yourself that they care, you will be disappointed. Saudization is a fact and the basis of all operations, naturally. That's okay and understandable. The Saudi ESL teachers are quite good too!

I would say come, see how you like it. Things may be different for you personally.

Best of luck to you, wherever  you end up!

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Hi Peony
Im also coming from Canada to PNU
Is it true there u cannot bring your family to PNU?

peony345 wrote:

Hi Ladylay,

Your optimism is refreshing. I hope it works out for you at PNU and that you enjoy it! There are some who don't mind the huge amount of work and they are doing fine. If you don't mind working very hard and following directives without any input, then you'll be fine too.

The facts I gave you are simply that - facts. In our ESL program,  management now officially recommends that teachers teach 7 classes  per week i.e., 21 periods with about 50 students in each period. Some colleges have less. There is no guarantee for you. Any teacher who teaches less than 21 periods is flagged as having less than 7. You can still be required to substitute an additional 7 periods a week.

The only other choice is PYP. If you teach in the PYP program, that is a whole different ballgame. PYP teachers are even more controlled and must inform their Lead Teachers of all movements. They need permission for just about everything except to use the Ladies' Room. I am absolutely not exaggerating.

There have been some cost-cutting measures that have affected us as well. Management is trying to reduce staff and they don't hesitate to do so.  For example, a teacher on 5 classes at the beginning of the term was flagged. (Saudi) management told the (expat) administrators to "redistribute the teacher's classes to those with only 6 classes and then get rid of that teacher. However, our department somehow managed to keep her, I don' t know how. Stress levels are quite high in our department and there is not much communication between teachers and upper management. We really don't even know who they are and have never seen them.

As for my situation, and why I'm still here - I have my own personal reasons. It is not by choice. Last time I checked, we were not obligated to disclose to perfect strangers why we do the things we do. I can assure you, I am not at all not worried about competition.      PNU hires and fires left and right every year. They are not at all invested in their expat teachers. I think that if you try to convince yourself that they care, you will be disappointed. Saudization is a fact and the basis of all operations, naturally. That's okay and understandable. The Saudi ESL teachers are quite good too!

I would say come, see how you like it. Things may be different for you personally.

Best of luck to you, wherever  you end up!

Yes you can take your family with you if you hired direct

Hi do u have your Family with you? How's the accomodation and what about schools?

My friend is a direct hire at pnu,I visited her couple months ago. Her house is beautiful,very high standard deco. If you are hired direct you will be living in the campus. She brought her family with her.

Thanks ZUZU121 For your prompt reply...ure friend is from what country....wat if somebody is hired via a contracted university project? Did she have a single or family status in her contract?

Does she have iqama? Are  her kids in school? How is day care there?

My friend is from UK,she was offered a family contract along with all the benefits that come with that, shes enrolling her children in international school this year as they missed the admission date.