On April 8th Oman went one step further in achieving its goal of developing a top-tier academic system with the unveiling of a new classification framework for higher education. The latest guidelines are expected to, among other things, aid the development of more accurate educational data, thereby quickening the alignment of Oman with international benchmarks.
The Oman Accreditation Council, founded in 2001 with the goal of setting and regularly monitoring education standards, reviewed the classification framework of over 20 countries before deciding to adapt that of Australia and New Zealand – known as the Australian Standard Classification of Education framework – to an Omani context.
Classification of higher education essentially breaks down programmes of study under three tiers. "Broad fields" are distinguished from each other based on theoretical nature and reason for study; "narrow fields" are subdivisions of the former and are distinguished by a more specific purpose of study; and "detailed fields" are a subset of narrow fields and are distinguished by particular methods of study
. The hierarchal system is useful in recording more complex data across national lines and is now one of many country-specific classification frameworks generally thought to be more comprehensive than the first international system developed by UNESCO in the 1970's, known as the International Standard Classification of Education. This measure was last updated in 1997, but most countries have since developed their own frameworks in light of the evolving effects of recent technologies on nearly all fields of study
. Like many states in the region, Oman is embarking on an economic diversification programme, a large part of which is aimed at developing a knowledge-based economy and a well-trained population to guide it.
Accordingly, improving the quality of education within the country has been a primary concern of the government and especially Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, who has pushed for extensive educational reforms since coming into power in 1970. Expansion in the higher education sector has been remarkably swift – the Sultanate's first public university, Sultan Qaboos University, opened in 1986 – and today the country boasts seven public and 24 private universities.
The introduction of a new classification framework represents a significant step in the Ministry of Higher Education's (MoHE's) push towards meeting international best practices in higher education, although there is still work to be done.
"Our institutions are not quite there yet," Patricia Groves, an adviser to the MoHE, told OBG last year. "But we're striving for international standards – we should be there within five years at the very most."
The MoHE is taking a multi-pronged approach to quality improvements within the sector. It encourages foreign investment by offering tax, land and grant incentives to private universities. In return, the ministry screens investors through its stringent quality standards, only accepting private institutions affiliated with a Western university.
It is also planning to establish an academic chair programme in a bid to increase the level of instruction by attracting professors from Western universities to the Sultanate for short periods of time.
Developing an internationally recognised higher education system is also crucial to the long-term economic development plans of Oman. As oil and gas prices remain volatile, the importance of the non-hydrocarbon sector grows. To achieve a shift towards a knowledge and service-oriented economy, the Omani people must have the skill set to match. Moreover, the Sultanate's population is predominantly composed of young people, making an education sector of both sufficient capacity and high quality doubly important.
With the adoption of a new, more comprehensive classification framework, the Sultanate is one step closer to making the goals of economic diversification and Omanisation a concrete reality.
Source: www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com
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