News & Event

HE Dr. Khalfan bin Said Al Shuaili, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning auspices this morning (Sunday) the opening of the symposium “The Future of School Buildings” in presence of HE Dr. Khalfan bin Said Al Shuaili, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, and a number of Their Excellencies. The symposium coincides with the Urban October Conference, which is implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning this October under the slogan “Urban Planning and Sustainability of Cities.” The symposium is taking place at the Oman Convention and Exhibitions Center.

A number of educational leaders, school administrations, supervisors, teachers, students, parents, a number of educational and academic experts and specialists, specialized experts in the field of urban planning and real estate development, contractors, a number of international experts in this field, the Society of Omani Engineers, and representatives from the units are participating in the symposium as well as representative of other relevant government units.

Through this symposium, the Ministry of Education seeks to develop school buildings architecturally and structurally in a manner consistent with educational developments in modern education paths, and to keep pace with national developments in the field of city development and planning in accordance with Oman Vision 2040, and the requirements of educational development in the field of education. It also seeks to develop modern visions of engineering and architectural designs for future school buildings as an attractive educational environment and raise the level of partnership and integration between the role of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning in the field of school buildings. In addition, the Ministry aim to meet the educational needs and requirements in the field of the school building that incubates education, in line with education development plans and strategies, update the construction specifications for school buildings in accordance with advanced standards, and create a national partnership between the various segments of the educational community and civil society with regard to developing the school building for the future.

The symposium includes the presentation of (24) papers over two consecutive days. On its first day, the symposium discusses the topic (planning policies for the school building), and the aspects of planning policies for establishing schools in the future, in line with national strategies, and aspects of selecting schools, their locations, type, and capacity. The second topic is (structural design of the school building), from which several aspects emerge, including the contemporary engineering design of the school building in accordance with the Omani environment, the engineering and architectural technical specifications of the school building, and the engineering technical specifications of school facilities in general. The third topic is (the educational environment in the future school building) which addresses the future school environment in light of the visions of developing education in the Sultanate of Oman, and the trends in implementing vocational and technical education, with a focus on the educational dimensions in the school building, in accordance with the visions of students and teachers and their future expectations. The final topic is (alternatives for financing the financial sustainability of school buildings in new urban plans) which addresses the aspects that support achieving financial sustainability in line with future trends in finding appropriate planning integration in this field.

The symposium also includes an accompanying exhibition that includes the Ministry Corner, in which the services provided by the various directorates of the Ministry of Education are displayed, and the accompanying events corner, which contains screens and computer devices that translate the ideas and aspirations of visitors to the exhibition about the future of the school building into virtual reality.