His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik’s idea of education is reflected in Oman Vision 2040 document, which focuses on developing the different levels of the educational system and improving educational outcomes has become necessary to build Omanis’ confidence in their identity and commitment to their social values.
This is attainable through increasing the quality of basic and higher education and developing scientific and educational curricula, so that graduates are acquainted with competitive qualifications and employability skills to enter the local and international labour market. Such graduates will have an adequate level of productivity and competitiveness to build a knowledge-based economy, enhance job security in the private sector and foster a participatory relation between the private and the public sectors.
In addition to this, a developed educational system also entails the development of educational institutions, faculty and staff, the application of international standards for accreditation, the use of modern teaching and learning techniques, and the dissemination thereof as national culture.
A leap is required in quality and quantity in the domain of scientific research and development, through the provision of diverse and sustainable sources of funding to support applied scientific researches to promote innovation in various fields and strengthen partnership between the academic and research institutions on the one hand and the private sector on the other.
The various stakeholders need to join forces to promote the role of citizens and society in advancing economic development. This necessitates the establishment of a stimulating educational and vocational training system to afford individuals high-level skills to enter the labour market, raise their productivity and improve the efficiency of the economy in general. Values of competition and qualification should prompt individuals to seek high-ranking jobs based entirely on merit. This implies adherence to institutional values and a performance-based qualification system.
His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik in his first speech on January 11, 2020, noted that, Late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said “established stable and permanent structures for education at all levels and generations flowed from it, imbibed knowledge and experience.”
In another speech, His Majesty the Sultan, said, “We will provide it with all means of empowerment as the basis through which our children will be able to contribute to building the requirements of the next stage.”
To further HM’s vision, the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation has worked to provide technical and vocational training to meet the demands of the labour market and encourage on-the-job training. This is in addition to setting a national plan for scientific research, defining its priorities in the light of the requirements of the economic and social development plan. It has supported innovations and research projects, organised international conferences and allotted funds for research programmes.
Royal Decree No 98/2020 merged the Scientific Research Council into the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, which is an embodiment of the keenness on the importance of scientific research and innovation.
Dr Saif bin Abdullah al Haddabi, Under-Secretary of the MoHERI, praised the successes achieved by public and private universities in innovative projects, stressing that the government harnessed all its energies and capabilities to advance scientific research through a wide range of projects and programmes.
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