[Oman-L] Oman aims for increased self-reliance in higher education

[Joachim Duester]

Oman ministry aims for increased self-reliance in
higher education
  
Source: Oman Daily Observer
15 September 2007

Dr Rawya bint Saud al Busaidiya, Minister of Higher
Education, says: “Our vision is to achieve a high
degree of self-reliance in higher education, within a
system which offers in-country a spectrum of
programmes which meets the needs of our economy and
society in the global world. “This means not only a
sufficient range of programmes, but also an adequate
number of seats to accommodate the young and growing
population. But this does not mean that every single
specialty must be offered in-country; or that Omani
students should not study abroad; or that programmes
from universities abroad should not be offered within
the Sultanate.

International exposure and cross-cultural interaction
is essential if Oman is to attain high standards and
remain relevant in today’s world”, she added. “We are
cognisant of the need to send students abroad to keep
abreast of international trends and access certain
highly specialised programmes. Accordingly, a number
of scholarships are offered for students to study at
recognised universities abroad, mainly in the UK, the
US and Australia, but covering a spectrum of 44
different countries around the world. Recent
agreements with Germany and the Netherlands will
result in more Omani students studying in Europe”, she
said in comments to the Observer.

Serving a rapidly developing economy and society,
Oman’s system of higher education has grown very fast
over the past two decades since the establishment of
Oman’s premier government university — Sultan Qaboos
University in 1986 — with a few hundred students. The
total number of students in higher education in Oman
will soon exceed 50,000. The system of private higher
education grew from one college in 1995 to the present
23 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), with close to
17,000 new entrants each year.

Regarding the balance between private and government
higher education, SQU with a current enrolment of
13,500, still serves more students than the four
private universities (Sohar University, University of
Dhofar, University of Nizwa and the Oman-German
University of Technology). There are at present six
MoHE Colleges of Applied Sciences (CAS) enrolling
approximately 7,000 students, with a seventh CAS soon
to be added. In addition, there are six higher
colleges of technology under the jurisdiction of the
Ministry of Manpower with an enrolment of 6,000; and
16 institutions of health science with an intake of
707 students.

Two new Oman-based private universities are about to
come on stream — Muscat University and the University
of Buraimi. While the expansion of higher education
has been predominantly through the private sector,
government-supported higher education remains a highly
significant part of the mix; and regulations are in
place to help assure quality in private HEIs. Perhaps
the most exciting development in higher education in
Oman in the past few years is the increasing
diversification of programme offerings both through
new specialised colleges such as IMCO (the
International Maritime College of Oman) and the Oman
Dental College, and through changes and additions to
the spectrum of programmes offered by established
colleges.

As the private sector in Oman undergoes a boom with
several new mega projects in the tourism, construction
and industrial sectors, a number of specialised
private HEIs are responding to the opportunity to
train Omanis in skills for a diversified economy.
Job-oriented programmes include tourism, medicine,
pharmacy, dentistry, port management, marine science,
design, management and IT. An indication of the
progress of the Sultanate on the road to increasing
self-reliance is the current trend among Oman’s
private HEIs to offer their own degrees, although they
are still required to have academic partnerships with
international universities.

Some international universities offer degrees through
local HEIs (an example is the University of Hull MBA),
but to date, the only international university
approved to operate ‘independently’ in the Sultanate
is the Arab Open University, which is affiliated with
the British Open University. Over time, the Sultanate
may attract a number of prestigious universities to
establish ‘branch campuses’ in Oman, as is already the
case in some other Gulf countries, said the minister.