News & Event

HE Undersecretary of Education: The project focuses on the knowledge and skills and the formation of positive attitudes to preserve the environment

Al-Julanda Al-Maawali: (12) schools participated in the experimental version of the project, while (52) schools will be participating in the second version

Mukhtar Al-Salmi: The school implemented agricultural and water projects to spread the school's green area

Nasr Al-Houti: The hydroponics project and the Ma’wala farm for fruit production and shade trees are among the school’s most prominent projects to achieve a sustainable environment

Sheikhan Al Dhahli: We sought to preserve the environment, recycle gray water, and increase the afforestation area in order to create a sustainable agricultural environment

Lamia Al-Mahrouqi: The project instilled in the students the culture and concepts of sustainable development, the exploitation of natural resources, and the realization of Oman Vision 2040

Salim Al-Ismaili: We hope to continue and expand this initiative to include a larger number of schools in the educational directorates in the governorates

The Green Schools project is one of the projects through which the Ministry of Education seeks to achieve the national strategic goals for sustainable development in the Sultanate of Oman, by promoting environmental awareness among students and employees working in the educational field. The Green Schools Project is implemented with the participation of the Omani community, including parents of students, and government and private sector institutions to create a generation capable of making informed decisions to solve many issues related to the

environment facing the Omani society in particular, and the world in general, and to contribute to activating the green economy.

On this project, HE Dr. Abdullah bin Khamis Ambosaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Education and Chairman of the Main Committee of the Green Schools Project, said: “The Green Schools Project is a national project that the Ministry sought to implement, and set the general framework for it since the academic year 2021/2022. This is within the framework of the government’s interest in environmental sustainability and carbon neutrality, in line with Oman’s Vision 2040 on people and the environment, in light of the global challenges in the field of environment and climate change. The project aims at providing the young generation with the principles of sustainability and preserving the environment and its natural resources. It also comes as a response from the educational system to the importance of achieving the goals of sustainable development, especially the fourth goal related to the quality of education.”

HE added: “This project comes as a community partnership between the Ministry of Education and the private sector and is based on three topics in sustainability and the environment, namely: the "Knowledge domain" which includes environmental information and knowledge, and the concept of sustainability, the circular economy and the green economy, the "Skills domain" which includes cognitive skills, manual skills, and the conversion of knowledge into practices, and the "Formation of Positive Attitudes towards Preserving the Environment" which includes values and attitudes related to the environment.”

Al-Julanda Al-Ma’awali, Senior Educational Researcher at the Office of the Undersecretary for Education and the rapporteur of the main committee for this project, said: “The Ministry implemented this project in its experimental version in the academic year 2022/2023 in (12) schools, with (6) schools from Al-Dakhiliyah Governorate and (6) schools from the Al Batinah South Governorate. The number of students benefiting from this project reached (440) students, and (685) teachers interacted with it, and (135) institutions participated in providing programs, implementing workshops, and providing technical and material support to the participating schools.”

He added: “This project, in its second edition, which will start in the next academic year 2023/2024, targeting a large number of schools from all the governorates, as (52) schools with grades from (7-10) will be participating, and is funded by Bee’ah Company, Namaa Group, Daleel Petroleum Company, Vodafone Company, and the Liquefied Natural Gas Development Corporation. The project is set to be implemented in September 2023, and will continue until April 2024. It

includes two aspects in its application, namely: “Sustainability Curriculum” which consists of two guides, one for the student and the other for the teacher, dealing with six important environmental topics: (waste management - climate change - renewable energy - afforestation - water consumption - zero carbon neutrality), and it is taught in the activity class every Tuesday every week, and the second aspect is "School Project". Its idea is based on each school implementation of a project in the school building, dealing with one of the six topics included in the guide.”

Mukhtar Al-Salmi, Head of the Educational Activities Department in Al Batinah South Governorate, and a member of the national team for this project, said: “This project comes to promote concepts and values that have become requirements of modern life, which are consistent with global trends to reduce many risks and threats to the environment and health, and modify some undesirable behaviors among school children, as well as achieving environmental sustainability by investing students' minds to be influential in their communities.”

He added: “The project, in its first edition, targeted six schools in the governorate’s education system, distributed according to the variables of gender and geographical location. These schools were chosen according to the specifications and requirements of the project and in a manner that guarantees sustainability. Each school also implemented accompanying projects as a field of work and application of the concepts of green schools. These projects varied between agricultural and water, which aim to spread the green area in the school, and to alternative energy projects, including solar energy, and the adoption of modern methods of rationalization, waste management, and recycling in order to achieve the concept of a circular economy.”

Nasser Al-Houti, principal of the Ma’wala bin Shams School for Basic Education in the Al Batinah South Governorate, pointed to the school’s preparations to serve sustainability programs, projects and issues, saying: “This project comes with the adoption of the Ministry of Education and the support of the Omani Holding Company for Environmental Services (Be’ah) and in cooperation between the school administration and the Parents’ Council. An agricultural project was implemented that reflects the school's vision of sustainability issues, represented in the (hydroponic cultivation) project, the (Ma’wala farm for fruit production) project with an area of approximately (4000) square meters, and the (shade trees) project using treated water technology through a water treatment plant using solar energy.”

Lamia -Mahrooqi, Principal of Safiya Umm Al-Mu’minin School (5-10) in Al-Dakhiliyah Governorate, reviewed the benefits achieved by her school when implementing the Green Schools Project, saying: “Through this project, we were

able to inculcate the culture and concepts of sustainable development among the students, and exploit the natural resources to achieve Oman Vision 2040 such as implementing a rest area for the students, and the exploitation of solar energy to operate a pump that irrigate fig tree plantings in this resting area with gray water, as well as implementing the "Safia Green Garden" project to preserve the environment, reduce environmental pollution, and achieve zero carbon neutrality.”

Sheikhan Al-Dhuhli, the principal of Al-Khalil bin Shathan School for Basic Education, stated: “Out of our keenness on green cover, our preservation of our planet, and the precedence in raising our students on sustainable resources, we sought during the last academic year to implement a sustainability curriculum for ninth grade students, who in turn worked in spreading the green slogan inside and outside the school, and we sought in the school to preserve the environment and recycle gray water.”

Salim Al Ismaili, supervisor of school activities and a member of the national team for green schools, said: “This project included several elements, such as student activities, workshops, lectures, scientific innovations, and field visits, as this project included (6) schools in educational Al-Dakhiliyah Governorate, which has produced approximately (6) main projects, and a number of sub-projects, that are in the context of the educational and learning process. We, as a national team, have also benefited from this initiative, which we hope will continue and expand to include a larger number of schools in the governorate, and in other Governorates as well.”