Sunday 23 / February / 2025
Muscat: The Shura Council will host Dr. Madiha Ahmed Al-Shibani, Minister of Education, on February 26, to deliver her ministry’s statement before the Council.
This will be the first ministerial statement during the second ordinary session of the tenth term.
This was announced by Ahmed Mohammed Al-Nadabi, Secretary-General of the Shura Council, who indicated that the Council will hold its sixth and seventh regular sessions for the second ordinary term (2024-2025) of the tenth term (2023-2027) on Tuesday and Wednesday, February 25-26.
The Secretary-General further explained that the seventh session will focus on the statement by the Minister of Education, in accordance with Article (69) of the Oman Council Law, which states: “Majlis Al-Shura shall, on the basis of a joint proposal by the office of the majlis and the chairs of its permanent committees, decide at the beginning of every annual session on the programme for ministerial statements that will be delivered through the session and their debate topics for discussion. The chairman of the majlis shall notify the government of this programme and specify the elements and topics that must be included in each statement in accordance with the matter or sector that the statement relates to.”
The Secretary-General highlighted that the statement will address several key topics, which the Council has identified.
The first area will discuss the policies of school education in Oman, including school education within the 10th five-year plan, an evaluation of its performance up until the middle of the plan, and the future strategic plans.
This also includes the topic of school education in light of the School Education Law (its reality and challenges), as well as post-basic education tracks and their alignment with labour market needs.
The second topic will focus on the quality of school education in Oman, including evaluations of educational curricula and their impact on improving school curricula to keep up with global educational changes.
It will also address e-learning, educational platforms, and what the ministry provides in this regard for both students and teachers, along with the ministry’s plans for digital transformation and the use of artificial intelligence.
Additionally, the statement will cover special education programmes for people with disabilities and autism, as well as the development of services related to education, such as student transportation, printing textbooks, and student activities.
The third topic of the statement will discuss human resources, training, and development within the Ministry of Education, including Omanisation plans according to specialisations and future expectations, the educational rehabilitation programme within Oman, and its alignment with future needs.
It will also address the recruitment of expatriate teachers and the professional development of educational staff, as outlined in Article (52) of the School Education Law.
The fourth topic of the statement will focus on private school education in Oman, discussing public-private partnership projects, cooperation, and the support provided to private schools. This will also cover investment policies aimed at maximising the economic returns from the school education sector and investing in private education.
The Secretary-General of the Shura Council added that the sixth regular session on Tuesday, February 25, will focus on discussing several draft laws referred to the Council by the government for review, including the draft law on collecting state dues and the draft law on the rights of people with disabilities.
He noted that the Council’s committees have held a series of meetings to review these draft laws, ensuring a thorough review in line with the current phase to contribute to strengthening Oman’s legislative framework.
He confirmed that the sixth session will also discuss the proposed draft law on the regulation of tobacco and its derivatives, which has been prepared and reviewed by the Council’s committees, in accordance with Article (48) of the Oman Council Law.
This article states: ‘Majlis Oman may propose draft laws and refer them to the government to study and return them to the majlis within a maximum period of one year. If the proposal is approved, the same procedure stipulated in article 47 of this law shall apply to it, and if it is not approved, the government shall notify Majlis Oman of the reasons for this within the same time limit.
