The Fifth Five-Year Development Plan is the first of a series of five-year action plans to be designed in compliance with the approved policy and mechanisms to achieve the primary goals of the Vision for Oman’s National Economy: Oman 2020. The long-term goal of vision 2020 will be achieved through four major strategies: Sustainable Development within a Stable Macroeconomic framework, Human Resources Development, Diversification of Economy, and Development of the Private Sector. All these have a direct or indirect impact on basic and secondary education.

The general objectives of this strategy include:

                     (a) Creating a climate that encourages the spread and promotion of knowledge and the eradication of illiteracy.

6. Creating employment opportunities for Omanis in the public and private sectors, in addition to equipping them with training and qualifications that conform to labour market needs.

Adhering to the true spirit underlying the "Expanded Vision of Basic Education", as elaborated by the Jomtien declaration of Education for All, the Omani National Development Policy planners have further extended the ambit of the Policy to embrace the broader and nobler concept of "human development". The Fifth Five-Year Development Plan document, however, has used the phrase "Human Resources Development". In addition to child care, pre-school education and basic education (as defined in the "Expanded Vision of Basic Education") the phrase "Human Resources Development" as used in the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan encompasses all forms of education including secondary, technical, vocational and tertiary education, occupational and professional training, non-formal education, Islamic education, social recreational and cultural activities, early childhood care and development, and pre-school education, etc.

From the onset of the renaissance in 1970, Omani Five-Year Plans have been comprehensive in the sense that they have been designed following a holistic approach. Each plan was conceived as an organic whole in which different aspects of economy were symbiotically related to one another and supported each other. Successive Five-Year Plans evolved from the cumulative experience and outcome of their antecedents.

The Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (1995–2000) is presented here as a model to indicate how policies, strategies and mechanisms of different sectors of the national economy converge upon human resources development, where the human being is both means and end: producer, consumer and beneficiary of the activities and processes required for human resources development. This comprehensive concept of human resources development is clearly worded in the description of social policies in the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (pp. 473–474).

The human being is recognized as the end and the means of social progress and economic development, whereas human resources development holds the key to the realization of the Vision for Oman’s National Economy. Social policy, especially that connected with the provision of health care and the development of the skills of Omani citizens, acquires special importance as it strives to enhance people’s capacity to participate effectively in the all-round development and wholesome progress of each community and of the whole nation. Policies and objectives adopted to improve the quality of life include health care, education, labour, housing and access to clean water.

The Government has forged a firm long-term policy with a clear objective of achieving an equilibrium between the growth of economy and the growth of the population. Balanced coordination between the population policy and the sustainable development policy is expected to increase productivity enough to maintain the per capita income of the citizens at its present level for some time. In the long run, however, when the policies become fully effective and productivity gains momentum, the aim is to double the per capita income in real terms by the year 2020.

The ultimate goal of the health sector in this Plan is to improve the health all Omani citizens. As a result, life expectancy at birth for Omanis is expected to increase from 64.4 years of age in 1995 to 68.4 years of age by the end of 2000. (This target has been surpassed. Life expectancy at birth was reported to have reached 72 in 1997. MOH, Annual Statistics Report 1997). The Plan has adopted the following minor objectives in order to achieve the ultimate goal of the health sector. These objectives include:

1. Providing primary health care for all people.

2. Reducing the infant mortality rate from 20 to 12 deaths per thousand live births, and immunizing all children against the six known childhood diseases, together with increasing the rate of delivery at hospitals and maternity centres to 100%.
3. Raising the Omanization ratio of paramedical hospital staff from 50% in 1995 to 55% by the end of the Plan.

The Fifth Five-Year Development Plan aims to achieve the following regarding the general education sector, which includes basic (primary and preparatory) and secondary education:

The most significant policies and mechanisms that are currently being implemented to realize the objectives set for the public education sector in the Plan are as follows:

4. Teaching the English Language from the first year of basic education.

5. Eliminating the double-shift school system.

6. Making the life span of the school textbook one academic year only.

The most important objectives of the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan regarding the higher education sector are as follows:

The Government of the Sultanate of Oman is well aware of the importance of technical education and vocational training in advancing the process of economic and social development, raising the country’s competitiveness and supporting Omanization in both the public and private sectors. The Fifth Five-Year Development Plan aims to provide technical education and vocational training in accordance with modern and flexible training systems so as to meet Omani labour requirements for the skilled or semi-skilled technical labour force.

The realization of the optimum utilization of the Omani workforce, which is linked to the development of Oman’s economy, depends on the policy of Omanization to increase the rates of Omani participation in the workforce. This applies particularly to women. In order to upgrade the level of workforce qualifications and skills which will ensure the success of the high value added strategy, the development plan has outlined some strategies and mechanisms.

The above-mentioned social policy statements have been translated into strategic mechanisms, which have been approved by the Council of Ministers and mandated by Royal Decree. New systems for vocational technical education and training have been instituted and have proved highly successful.

One can not help perceiving a similarity of purpose and import between the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan and the reigning spirit of the world declaration on Education for All as described in the Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs. For instance, article 6 (Enhancing the environment for learning) states, "Learning does not take place in isolation. Societies, therefore, must ensure that learners receive the nutrition, health care, and general physical and emotional support they need in order to participate actively in and benefit from their education." (p.6). Article 8 (Developing a supporting policy content) states, "Supportive policies in the social, cultural, and economic sectors are required in order to realize the full provision and utilization of basic education for individual and societal improvement. Suitable economic, trade, labour, employment, and health policies will enhance learners’ incentives and contributions to social development." (p.7).

A lengthy, arduous process was applied to formulating the Vision for Oman’s National Economy: Oman 2020, and concerted effort was exerted to prepare an ambitious but realistic, feasible and affordable current Five-Year Development Plan. The four previous Five-Year Development Plans were also successfully implemented, in which human resources development through education and training was consistently given prominence. None of this could have been accomplished without political will translated into financial backing. The impressive achievement of universal primary education, gender parity in primary enrolments, significant progress in bringing down barriers in women’s participation in various types of economic and social activities, accompanied by commendable achievements in child and maternal health care, and substantial reductions in infant mortality and infectious diseases rates – all of these testify to the fact that the Government and the people have constantly proven their firm commitment to the Goal of Education for All, which coincides with the Omani vision of social progress and economic development.

Moreover, the following actions evidently bear testimony to the firm commitment of the Government: adopting the "Vision of Oman’s National Economy: Oman 2020" and its major dimensions; adopting the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan; linking the State General Budget with the financial framework of the plan; reorganizing the planning machinery in the State Administration System; setting a timetable for the actual implementation of the plan; developing financial procedures; issuing Royal Decrees; and adopting various additional procedures to facilitate the implementation process.

The Ministry of National Economy is responsible for issuing annual reports on human resources development in the Sultanate. The reports also emphasize the achievements of sub-sectors related to human resources development, including health, general education, vocational training, recruitment and employment. The reports also cover public expenditure on each human resources sub-sector, the role of the private sector in their development, and actions taken towards the realization of the future vision of human resources development in each year of the Five-Year Plan. Progress is continuously monitored through continuous formative evaluation covering all aspects of implementation (material, financial, time targets) in order to pinpoint bottlenecks and remove obstacles through appropriate measures and modifications, as needed.

Since the onset of the First Five-Year Development Plan, the Government has concentrated its efforts on providing free basic education for all school-age children aged 6–15 years. Basic education in Oman used to cover Grades 1 to 9 – the primary cycle (Grades 1–6) and preparatory cycle (Grades 7–9), whilst the secondary cycle comprised of Grades 10 to 12. Under the reorganized structure of general education, basic education now covers Grades 1 to 10, and secondary education covers Grades 11 and 12.

In the 70s and 80s, the general education system expanded rapidly. By 1990/91, the education system had reached 96% gross enrolment rates for the primary cycle (Grades 1–6) and 83% for the preparatory cycle. In the framework of the Jomtien declaration of Education for All, the Sultanate of Oman recommitted itself to addressing the parallel issues of adult literacy, education of the handicapped, pre-school education, gender and regional equity in respect of quality and access, along with the issues related to the quality and efficiency of the education system.

In 1992/93, the MOE, with technical assistance from UNICEF Muscat, prepared a mid-decade national plan of action for education within the framework of the Fourth Five-Year Plan (1991–1995). In view of the situation analysis, the MOE decided to combat the major problems of the education system by implementing a comprehensive reform plan divided into seven mutually reinforcing, inter-linked components, each having its own national programme of action. The seven components included:

1. Pre-school Education
2. Basic Education (Grades 1–9)
3. Adult Literacy
4. Education of the Disabled
5. Teacher Education and Training
6. Curriculum, Textbooks and Educational Technology
7. Educational Management, Monitoring and Evaluation

Each of the 7 programmes was designed in terms of its general and specific objectives to be achieved, the implementation time frame and execution plan, etc. The comprehensive reform programme aimed at enhancing student achievement levels through improving the quality and efficiency of the education system, while continuing to expand the system to achieve the goals of universal access to basic education and eliminating gender and regional disparities. Starting from scratch in 1970, the education system expanded rapidly because the Government attached a high priority to providing education for all. Due to rapid quantitative expansion however, some qualitative aspects were affected.

There were multiple factors that affected instructional quality. The deficiencies included: inadequate school buildings and educational facilities, lack of adequate and appropriate instructional materials, an acute shortage of qualified Omani teachers, a preponderance of foreign teachers, outdated teaching/learning methodologies and lack of instructional technology. Although the percentage of schools operating in rented buildings was small, double-shift was a norm in the elementary cycle.

To ease the situation the MOE, during the Fourth Five-Year Plan, constructed 62 new buildings – 46 for the primary schools and 16 for the preparatory schools. In addition to this, the Plan also included the construction of 85 school buildings to replace unsuitable building structures, of which 23 were huts, 21 dilapidated buildings, 33 wooden structures and 8 rented facilities.

Besides school buildings, the MOE was also concerned with issues related to educational facilities (such as libraries, laboratories, multipurpose rooms, workshops), school size, central schools, transportation of students, class size, student/teacher ratio, the Omanization of teaching staff, curricula and textbooks, instructional methods and instructional technology, teacher training (pre-service and in-service), supervision, monitoring and assessment, and the administration and management of the system.

The Plan covered all the elements associated with the quality and efficiency of the basic education system. Over and above this, adult literacy, especially in women, pre-school education, as well as gender and regional disparity issues, were also included in the plan. The Fourth Five-Year Plan appeared to attach great importance to human resources development in general, and to the development of the labour force in particular. The overarching concern of the Government to link the outputs of the educational and training system to the labour market needs of the national economy in order to achieve a balance between supply and demand of labour, and to reduce dependence on expatriate labour, shifted the focus of implementation from basic education to vocational/technical education and training.

As the preliminary evaluation of the performance of the Fourth Five-Year Plan shows, "the objectives and policies of the Fourth Five-Year Plan related to human resources and labour force development were separated from the long-term objectives of the plan for those resources. As a result, top priority was given to the implementation of policies and actions directly aimed at meeting the projected skilled manpower needs of the domestic labour market.

The Fifth Five-Year Plan has picked up the threads, and envisages a comprehensive radical reform of the basic and secondary education system through a phased, cumulative experience-based, incremental implementation of a carefully designed reform plan. The following are the major dimensions, programmes and objectives of the education reform plan, which is currently in its second year of implementation.

In view of the long term Vision for Oman’s National Economy, the Ministry of Education has initiated a programme of Reform and Development of general education in Oman within the general framework of the human resources development goal of the Fifth Five-Year Plan. The main goal of the reform is to improve the quality, efficiency, cost-effectiveness and relevance of the general education system in order to produce world quality graduates well-equipped with knowledge, skills, and competencies to be effectively productive citizens capable of meeting the challenges of a fast-emerging global society, world free trade, cyber-economy and information technologies in the 21^st century.

The major strategies involve:

5. Modernizing the examination, assessment and evaluation system.

The broad goal of the reform plan is to enhance the quality, efficiency, effectiveness and relevance of the general education system so as to produce world standard graduates. To this effect, the MOE is currently working to achieve the following objectives:

1. Selecting high calibre personnel in sufficient numbers.
2. Providing essential training opportunities.
3. Consolidating the training initiative through in-service training.
4. Introducing information technology systems in technical, financial and administrative departments.
5. Introducing a highly effective and competent work system in all departments.

The entire reform and development plan is being implemented in terms of the following five mutually reinforcing synergistic programs and the necessary material and technical resources to provide them with logistic support.

The Ministry recognizes the critical importance of a high standard of science education throughout basic education for the future of Oman and, therefore, aims to achieve self-sufficiency in the provision of all technical, technological, engineering, health and other scientifically based services available in advanced countries. This requires that Omani students completing their basic education should have achieved at least the average level of achievement equal to that attained by their cohorts in developed countries.

This programme aims at improving the science curriculum, the teaching/learning environment and methodology, and evaluation techniques, with greater emphasis on learning through direct experience, the assessment of application of knowledge and principles, and higher level cognitive skills.

The other four major components include:

2. Strengthening the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics

3. Strengthening the Teaching and Learning of English

4. Teaching Plan (lengthening the school day and academic year, and allocating periods for different school subjects per week for each grade)

All the above stated programmes entail some commonly shared features and strategies which include:

1. Design of an appropriate, context-based curriculum.

2. Emphasis on ability to adopt and ability to learn.

3. The ‘what’ and ‘ how’ of learning: content and process

4. Learner-centred rather than teacher-centred teaching/learning approaches, with an optimal balance between the two approaches.

5. Emphasis on the student assuming responsibility for learning.

6. Emphasis on problem-based learning.

7. Emphasis on experiential learning.

8. A holistic integrated approach to knowledge versus compartmentalized subjects.

9. Systematic changes and evolutionary development and implementation.

Achieving the reform objectives needs a mobilization of resources, consolidated support and adamant will on the part of the implementing authorities.

The planned provision of resources includes the following thematic categories:

The education reform and development plan includes revising the Ministry’s organizational structure, and implementing measures aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of central administration. The focus of these measures is on enhancing the capacity of the MOE to identify needs, formulate appropriate policy and programmes, and execute them effectively in the field. The structural reform involved reorganizing some directorates and departments, and creating several high level and middle level national policy committees and central task forces, each with a clearly defined organizational structure, composition of membership, terms of reference, and roles and responsibilities, including specific tasks and time schedule.

The reorganized structure facilitates informed policy planning, project implementation and constant feedback. It is an effective means to ensure corporate commitment throughout the Ministry by opening new channels and formalizing the opportunities for collective input to corporate decisions, and promoting better communication and understanding of the decisions once taken. Moreover, it models – at senior executive level – the kind of inter-departmental co-operation and multiple input decision-making processes that should occur throughout the Ministry at all levels.