مجلس التعليم

An extract from a speech by the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said, may his soul rest in peace, to the people, 26 November 1975

"As time goes by we are making progress in every area of life. In the educational sphere, some 65 new schools have been opened in the Sultanate, increasing the number of classes by 485 and the number of teachers and administrators by 920. This means that we now have 176 schools with around 50,000 pupils – boys and girls – studying in them. In addition to this, educational opportunities are also available for adults who missed out on the chance to study when they were young; a total of 182 evening centers with 1,584 students have been opened for men and six centers with 575 students have been opened for women.

We also send young Omanis abroad to gain expertise. At present 59 students have completed English language courses in Britain and are studying in universities in the United States, a further 91 students are candidates for courses in America, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Syria during the 1975-76 academic year.

We aim to extend education throughout the Sultanate so that everyone may have chance to study according to his abilities. We are also working on a plan to eradicate illiteracy and we are focusing our attention particularly on vocational and higher education so that we can meet the country>s needs for trained Omani manpower. We are taking steps to "Omanise" the school syllabi and expand educational services at the different levels, particularly primary, and provide preparatory and secondary schools at the main centers of population in the educational regions.

There are plans to establish an Omani teachers, training college to provide pre-service and in-service training for primary school teachers, as well as an agricultural secondary schools in Nizwa. Three technical secondary schools commercial. agricultural and industrial- four preparatory -secondary schools and two teacher training institutes for male and female teachers. Work will also continue on the construction of primary schools in those regions which do not yet have them.

A number of secondary schools graduates will be sent on scholarships to universities and higher institutes in Arab and friendly states".