Although Oman had placed a demand for 50 nurses from Bangladesh, only 12 out of 250 aspiring migrants were considered eligible for the job as most of them failed to communicate in English.
“The required number of nurses could not be selected as the applicants could not communicate in English,” Zahirul Islam, general manager of Boesl, the state-sponsored recruiting agency which had been handling the recruitment process, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
Oman placed a demand of 35 doctors and 50 nurses for a health centre located at an industrial area near the capital, Muscat. Following a Boesl advertisement, 250 nurses appeared for the examination.
He also added that an Omani delegation recently interviewed the candidates and noted that most of them cannot speak in English.
“However, the required number of doctors has been selected,” he added.
The skilled healthcare workers will be employed by the Rusayl Health Centre, a hospital at Rusayl Industrial Estate, 45km from Muscat.
“Each of the selected candidate would only have to pay Tk60,000 as a service charge and no other fees will be applicable,” Zahirul said.
A total 25 male nurses and 25 female nurses would also be recruited for monthly salaries of US$760 and US$730 respectively.
Oman is one of the destinations for migrant workers from Bangladesh. In the first four months of this year, the Gulf nation recruited 35,798 Bangladeshi workers, according to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training.
“The institutes that provide nursing education do not have English language courses, which is necessary,” Refugee Migratory Movements and Research Unit (RMMRU) of Dhaka University founding chair Tasneem Siddique told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
She suggested introduction of English language course in all nursing training institutions.