Education & Training
From The Report: Oman 2017
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Evolving rapidly over a short period, education and training play a key role in Oman’s long-term development plans. From three schools in the country prior to 1970, the sultanate’s general education sector has expanded to include 1647 public, special education, private and international schools, with a total of 724,395 pupils, including kindergarteners and preschoolers. Enrolment is compulsory for 10 years of basic education and free for all Omani citizens. Progress has been reflected in significant improvements in the adult literacy rate, which reached 94.8% in 2015, up from 81% a decade earlier, and in 2013/14 the higher education segment was served by 18 public colleges, 20 private colleges, one state university and seven private universities. This chapter contains an interview with Pankaj Khimji, Director, Khimji Ramdas; and Director, Muscat University

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Keys to success: Focusing on quality and the right skills to meet the needs of the economy
OBG
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Evolving rapidly over a short period, education and training play a key role in Oman’s long-term development plans. From three schools in the country prior to 1970, the sultanate’s general education sector has expanded to include 1647 public, special education, private and international schools, with a total of 724,395 pupils, including kindergarteners and preschoolers. Enrolment is compulsory for 10 years of basic education and free for all Omani citizens. Progress has been reflected in significant…

Interview

Alternative paths: Pankaj Khimji, Director, Khimji Ramdas; and Director, Muscat University, on fostering links with the business community
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Interview: Pankaj Khimji In what ways can the practical knowledge of students at Oman’s universities be developed? PANKAJ KHIMJI: If you look at the history of Oman’s education system, you can see three distinct stages. The first, which started around 40 years ago, was really about establishing programmes and increasing access to them. The second, about 15 years ago, focused on boosting the number of Omani faculty. We are now entering the third stage, which is the period in which we will need…

Analysis

Vital tools: Authorities are expanding the use of technology in classrooms of all levels
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ICT is viewed by the Omani government as essential to improving the quality of education. The Ministry of Education (MoE) employs a comprehensive set of recommendations for technology-assisted instruction across the entire national curriculum at all grades and levels of education. First-cycle and second-cycle basic education – grades 1-4 and 5-10, respectively – incorporate high levels of integration of technology-assisted instruction supported by infrastructure, including basic hardware and…