News & Event

With the start of the new school year, life returns to schools, and classrooms are crowded with students in various governorates of the Sultanate of Oman, amid intensive preparations by the Ministry of Education to ensure a quality and efficient educational start.

In this context, attention was paid to school buildings, including maintenance, renovations, and air conditioning replacements, in addition to enhanced safety and security standards. This survey focused on the readiness of these schools and their role in providing a safe and attractive educational environment.

Khamis Al-Hadidi, Director-General of the Directorate-General of Projects and Services, spoke about the most prominent achievements in construction, development, and furnishing, saying: “The Ministry received (16) new school buildings in (9) educational directorates, to operate them at the beginning of the school year, while ensuring that maintenance and restoration work is in accordance with the latest technical and scientific specifications, in order to provide a safe and appropriate school environment.”

The Director-General added that the Ministry has approved an amount of (20 million) Omani riyals for the project of additions to (80) schools, and the additions were actually implemented in (68) schools at a cost of (15 million) Omani riyals, and it is expected that (53) schools will be operated this year, and an amount of (7 million) Omani riyals has been allocated for restoration work, and (4 million) Omani riyals to refurnish (77) science laboratories, after the previous stages included furnishing (118) laboratories. He pointed out that the Ministry has improved the educational environment in (120) schools by establishing playgrounds, canopies, and expanding cooperative societies.

Al-Hadidi touched on the air conditioning replacement project, saying: “The Ministry has completed the supply and installation of (48,000) air conditioning units in two phases at a cost of (12 million) Omani riyals, and work is currently underway to install the same number in the third and fourth phases at a cost of (11 million) Omani riyals, as more than (25,000) units have been installed so far, which is (52%).

He touched on school transportation, saying: “The Ministry has formed committees from various educational directorates in the governorates to review all school transportation methods, address the most important observations, and require that they meet security and safety specifications before renewing their contracts. The Ministry has renewed (20,828) contracts, and tenders have been issued by the educational directorates in the governorates to rent (800) new school transportation methods, with the condition that their year of manufacture is (2023) and after, and that they include security and safety specifications, such as: installing an automatic system in them to track their path, in addition to a number of cameras (internal and external) for monitoring, and sensors to avoid accidents of forgetting and running over students.

Regarding students with disabilities, Al-Hadidi explains that the Ministry has coordinated with the relevant authorities to allocate financial appropriations to contract with approximately (400) supervisors on school buses for people with disabilities, to provide support and assistance to them starting from this academic year.

As for the school transportation aspect, he says: “The Ministry has started an initial experiment in cooperation with one of the companies to manage the school transportation fleet in Barka in South Al Batinah Governorate, where the experiment included (17) schools and (315) buses that benefited more than (12,600) students, stressing that the Ministry is working to expand the experiment to include all schools in South Al Batinah Governorate.

Fahm Al-Shahimi, Head of the Security and Safety Department at the Ministry’s Security Office, explained that work is underway to install advanced visual surveillance systems supported by artificial intelligence in a number of government schools across the Sultanate of Oman’s governorates. This is supported by the Oman Oil Development Company and the efforts of the Ministry’s Initiatives Support Committee, at a cost of OMR 200,150. He said: “This initiative is the culmination of the Ministry’s efforts to provide solutions that support aspects of security and safety. Coordination has been made with the security and safety departments in the educational directorates to nominate the targeted schools based on field studies and precise technical standards.”

Al-Shahimi points out that the initiative aims to raise the level of protection in educational institutions by covering entrances, courtyards, and vital facilities with high-efficiency cameras, enhancing the sense of security among students, teaching staff, and administrative personnel. He adds that this project represents a model of integration between the public and private sectors in supporting the educational process and embodies the ministry's strategic goals of developing the security infrastructure for schools.

Regarding parallel programs, he confirmed that the Ministry's Security Office is implementing a package of training programs, including an emergency management program, daily school situations, and the "Tamkeen" program to train school guards, in addition to a security and safety program in educational facilities. Work is underway to distribute informational posters at the beginning of the new school year, explaining security and safety protocols and the procedures to be followed during emergencies.

He concluded his remarks by emphasizing that the Ministry is continuing to implement quality initiatives that contribute to preserving the safety of the school environment and enhancing community confidence in the education system. He explained that school security and safety are not merely procedures, but rather a fundamental pillar for providing a reassuring and disciplined educational environment that enables students and teachers to focus on the essence of the educational process.