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Oman developing diversified secondary education

Monday, 12 April 2010 10:18

Education ministers from across the Arab world gathered in the Omani capital of Muscat to take part in the 7th Arab Education Ministers Conference held on March 7-8. Organised by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALECSO), the theme of this year's conference was the current standard of secondary education in the Arab world, with discussion focussing on the need to develop and diversify secondary education in line with best global practices.

Oman's deputy prime minister, Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, welcomed guests to the conference, where he reviewed Oman's own progress in developing its educational offering, highlighting in particular the important role of education in the government's comprehensive development framework. He was quoted in local press as telling delegates that "Education in the Arab world is the main pillar for progress, and that can only be achieved through modernisation of curricula, and achieving a qualitative educational leap to produce qualified human cadres capable of coping with the requirements of the age we live in."

The government of Oman underlined its commitment to education in its 2010 budget, released in January. The budget, which forecast a deficit of RO800m ($2bn) based on a conservative prediction of oil prices, saw education receive a 35% share of current expenditure for the civil ministries - a total of RO874m ($2.27bn). The figure marks an inflation-busting 10.5% rise in overall expenditure on education, with the current 35% share representing a continued improvement in the sector's resourcing relative to other departments: its average share over the past decade has typically been closer to 30%.

Key comparative statistics regarding educational achievements in the Arab world are difficult to obtain. However, in a report published by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation last year, 19 Arab states were indexed according to their "knowledge economy" performance using World Bank methodology and indicators. According to the report, Oman ranked 63rd out of 135 countries globally for its knowledge economy and 5th out of 19 in the Arab world. Concerning education and human resources, Oman's position was 87th out of 135 and 10th out of 19, respectively.

Among the conclusions drawn by delegates at the conference was a need to provide students at secondary level with better vocational skills to prepare them for the workplace; previously, secondary education in the Arab world has tended to concentrate on preparation for higher education. Lamis Mustafa Al Alami, the minister of education for Palestine, said that "After completing basic education it is important to stream students into different tracks. It is very important that our education should be flexible enough if a student wants to join the vocational stream."

A further conclusion was the need to enhance cooperation between Arab states in delivering technological solutions, including making use of recognised centres of global expertise such as the ICT centre in Bahrain. In common with many other reforming Arab governments, the Omani Ministry of Education has recently introduced its own "Educational Electronic Portal", while the Information Technology Authority (ITA), the Sultanate's ICT regulator, is also focused on building ICT literacy among the general population, recently opening a number of community learning centres to that end.

In a concluding speech to the conference, Oman's education minister, Yahya bin Saud Al Sulaimi, told delegates that "The traditional segregation between what is termed as general secondary education, technical secondary education and vocational and technical education is not appropriate in a world where the scientific majors overlap, and requires more sophisticated skills and efficiencies than before." He called instead for "finding alternatives that are more linked to reality, and ensure equality among students according to their capacities, interests and the actual needs of Arab societies". To this end, he reaffirmed the recommendations of both the Education Development Plan in the Arab World and the 2010 Education for All Global Monitoring Report.

Global Arab Network

This article is published in partnership with Oxford Business Group

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