The number and percentage of qualified and certified male and female teachers in public and private primary schools are presented in Table PT1.

Table PT1 shows that in all there were 11,189 primary school teachers in the public schools and 864 in the private schools.

1. In 1997/98, 99.3% of the public primary teachers had the required qualification or higher; among the private school primary teachers the percentage of qualified teachers was 95.4%.
2. There were no gender differences in the percentages of qualified teachers, in both cases it was 99.3% and the gender parity index was 1.0.
3. Among private school teachers, the share of qualified teachers was 96.4% among males and 95.2% among females (private school teachers make up only 7% of the total number of primary teachers).

Table PT2 (which is table 6 of the indicators in the Annex) shows the percentages of male and female qualified teachers across the 10 Regions in the country.

The combined percentage (male + female) of qualified teachers varies within a very narrow range from 98.1% (in Musandam, which has only 155 primary teachers) to 100% (in Al Batinah and Al Wusta).

For all practical purposes, there are no differences in the percentage of qualified teachers across the 10 regions in the country.

It is clear from the gender parity index reported in the Column 6 of Table PT2 that there are no gender differences in the percentage of qualified teachers in any region.

Teaching/learning is a highly interactive process. Interactions take place at various levels in both cognitive and affective domains. There is continuous interaction between teachers and pupils (one-to-one, as well as one-to-many) and among the pupils themselves. Teachers are responsible not only for creating a stimulating learning environment in the classroom, but also for catering for individual differences in the learning needs of pupils, which vary widely within classes.

It is apparent that with both class time and the teacher’s capacity to carry out different tasks simultaneously being limited, instructional quality and the time available for individual pupils are negatively correlated with the number of pupils in the class. The pupil/teacher ratio, or the average number of pupils per teacher in the system, is a proxy variable that reflects in some way the quality of education. The underlying assumption is that a lower pupil/teacher ratio will allow more time for teachers to spend per pupil, which is supposed to be related to instructional quality, efficiency and effectiveness.

Average class size is another indicator closely associated with this. Yet another related indicator is the number of teachers per class.

The following Table PT3 presents the national statistics, namely: the average class size, the average number of teachers per class, and the average number of students per teacher in the primary cycle of the general education system for five years from 1993/94 to 1997/98.

From the first row in Table PT3, it is clear that the average class size of 34 has remained constant since 1993/94.

A substantial body of research studying the relationship between class size and student achievement, as measured by academic achievement tests, generally suggests that increasing class size up to 35 or even up to 40 (provided that classes are more or less homogeneous) does not have a significantly deleterious effect on the learning achievement of students, while it can substantially enhance cost-efficiency by reducing the current cost per student.

While 34 is almost the optimal size for a primary class, the average can be misleading. In reality, class size varies across schools. Some schools have very small classes, while others have large classes, to the extent that classes become so large that optimal teaching quality is then depleted. At the other extreme, very small classes generally exist in very small schools in sparsely-populated remote areas, which generally suffer from lack of essential school facilities.

In lower primary, Grades 1–3, classes are usually taught by class teachers, that is, the same teacher teaches everything. In Grades 4–6, on the other hand, field teachers may be teaching groups of subjects. Sometimes, special subjects such as music, fine arts, physical education, etc. may be taken by specialized teachers. In all circumstances, schools need more teachers than the number of classes. The MOE has a policy of supplying 4 teachers per 3 classes. This explains the constant teacher/class ratio of 1.3 year by year. Exceptions to the rule may, however, exist here and there.

The bottom row of Table PT3 shows a constant pupil/teacher ratio of 27 pupils per teacher in the primary education cycle from year to year, with the only exception of 1995/96, when the number of pupils per teacher was one less (26) than the constant norm (27).

We examined the national level statistics, recognizing the possibility of variation across regions and – most likely – variation across schools within regions. Leaving microanalysis of the within region school level for the regional decision-makers, we contented ourselves with a birds-eye-view of the regions.

Table PT4, depicted by Figures PT4a and PT4b, presents, respectively, the distribution of Average Class Size, and Pupil/Teacher Ratio variables across the 10 regions.

Figure PT4a demonstrates that there is regional variation in average class size, but little in comparison to the wide regional differences in the demographic factors, socio-economic conditions and lifestyle of regional communities.

Average class size varies from 21 students per class (Al Wusta) to 37 students per class (Batinah North), in Dhofar it is 27, in two regions it is 32, in one 33, in another one 34 and in the three remaining regions it is 36.

The pupil/teacher ratio corresponds to the variation in class size. It is the lowest (18 pupils per teacher) in Al Wusta and highest (29 pupils per teacher) in Batinah North. In Dhofar it is 22, and in the other seven regions it ranges from 25 to 28 pupils per teacher.

The student/teacher ratio is computed on aggregates of all teachers (Omani + Expatriate) and all students (Omani + Expatriate) for public and private schools separately, as well as for both combined. Table PT5 and Figure PT5 present the comparative pupil/teacher ratios of Public and Private schools across all regions.

In the previous description, we only discussed the situation of the public schools, which contain 93% of the primary school teachers. It is interesting, however, to note that the pupil/teacher ratio in private primary schools is much less than that of the public schools. For the country as a whole, the public schools provide one teacher per 27 students as compared with one teacher per 15 students in the private primary schools. The Private/Public pupil/teacher ratio parity index is 0.55. The parity index is the ratio of the two pupil/teacher ratios. A parity index of 0.55 means that the pupil/teacher ratio in public schools is 55% of that in the private schools.

The contrast between public and private primary pupil/teacher ratios across the regions is exhibited in Figure PT5.

On average, a public primary school teacher has to deal with 11.5 more pupils (which is a load of 75% more) than his/her counterpart in the private primary schools.

The extent to which pupils repeat grades detracts from the internal efficiency of the education system. Students repeating a grade occupy student places and consume resources that could have been utilized by other students. Students repeating a grade once consume at least twice as many resources as their cohorts who get promoted to the next grade. In addition, they block the student places that could have been occupied by as many other students.

If a school system has a policy of automatic promotion to the next grade, then the probability of students repeating a grade is almost zero, although there may be some exceptional cases all the same.

In a system where the promotion of pupils to the next grade depends upon their meeting some requirements concerning the acquisition of a minimum level of knowledge, skills, and competencies in well-defined areas of curricular content and objectives, then the failure of students may reflect upon the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of schooling, among other factors of course. Moreover, the number of times a student repeats each grade and the number of grades he/she repeats add to the actual number of years the student takes to graduate. For instance, a student who has repeated two grades, one grade once and the other grade twice, has taken three years more than normally required for graduation. This phenomenon increases the total cost as well as the unit cost of primary education, and consequently decreases efficiency and adds to the wastage in education.

In the first three grades of the primary cycle pupils are promoted if they score 50% in Arabic Language and Religion (Islam), and 40% in Mathematics. A few pupils who fail in one of these three subjects, must repeat the grade. However, the following year the repeaters are automatically promoted to the next grade. In the first four grades of the reformed Basic Education system there is no repetition of grades. Pupils to be promoted to the next grade are required, nevertheless, to demonstrate that they have achieved the essential objectives of each subject

In Grades 4–6, a pupil has to pass all school subjects to be promoted to the next grade. Pupils who fail in any one, or at the most any two, of the school subjects and pass all the other subjects are allowed to sit for a re-sit exam in the failed subject(s) in August before the start of the new scholastic year in September. Students who clear the failed subject(s) are promoted to the next grade.

Students who fail more than two subjects, and those who fail the re-sit exam in the one or two subjects they had initially failed, are required to repeat the grade. If a pupil fails a second time in the same grade, then he/she is obliged to quit school, although this rule is subject to other conditions as well. A student can repeat the Grades 4–6 more than once provided that the student is aged less than 14, 15 and 16 respectively in Grades 4, 5 and 6. Yet another condition is that during the whole of the primary cycle (Grades 1–6), the total number of repetitions in all grades must not exceed five, which is the maximum limit.

Table PR6 gives the repetition rate of all students by gender and by grade for Grades 1–9 of the basic education cycle for 1996/97. The graphic display of the repetition rate is presented by Figure PR6.

The repetition rate for all students in the first five primary grades varies from 8.0% to 11.7%, with an average of 9.2% taken over the five grades.

There are noticeable differences in the pattern and range of the repetition rate of boys and girls across the grades. The repetition rate of boys ranges from 8.5% (the lowest in Grade 1) through 15.1% (the highest in Grade 4) in the first 5 grades. The range for girls is from 5.5% (the lowest in Grade 5) to 8.7% (the highest in Grades 1 and 2). In general, the repetition rate, grade by grade, is higher for boys than for girls. The gender difference in the repetition rate is clear from the average of the repetition rate taken over first 5 grades, which is 10.7% for boys as compared to 7.6% for girls. The gender difference in the repetition rate is obvious from Figure PR6.

Looking at the male repetition rate in Figure PR6, we can see two blocks of columns jutting out, way ahead of the others. The highest peak represents the Grade 7 repetition rate for boys and the second peak represents the repetition rate for boys in Grade 4. Grade 7 happens to be the first year of the 3-year preparatory cycle. The 27.2% repetition rate for boys in Grade 7 is astonishingly high; it is clearly three times their rate in Grade 6 and more than twice the repetition rate of girls in Grade 7. In Grade 4, also, more than 15% of the boys as compared to only 8% of the girls were repeaters.

The causes of this phenomenon need to be investigated. Why does the repetition rate shoot up in Grade 7 for both boys and girls, and why is the repetition rate for boys much higher than it is for girls? These are some of the issues the Ministry is presently engaged in dealing with.

Some pupils repeat some grades, while some drop out of school from different grades without completing their primary education. Both factors are major causes of wastage in the education system.

Pupils who quit school without completing Grade 4, for no matter what reason, run a high risk of relapsing into illiteracy. This is because completion of at least four grades of primary education is normally thought to be an essential pre-requisite for a sustainable level of literacy. Those who did not join school at all, and those who dropped out before attaining a modicum level of education, have all surrendered their fundamental human right to basic education, which is considered a very basic need of all human beings. Dropouts, on top of this, have been instrumental in wasting a part of educational resources and, in turn, contributing to the inefficiency of the education system.

The dropout rates of boys, girls, and all students combined for Grades
1–9, along with their averages taken over the first five grades, the first six grades, the preparatory cycle (Grades 7–9), and the basic cycle (Grades 1–9) for the academic year 1996/97, are presented in Table PR7 and illustrated by Figure PR7.

Source:

Statistical Year Book, MOE, 1997/98.

Table PR7 brings out the following facts about dropout rates in the basic education grades in 1996/97.

1. The combined dropout rate of both male and female pupils fluctuates from grade to grade, ranging from 0.3% (the lowest in Grade 3) to 7.6% (the highest in Grade 7).
2. It is substantially higher in the preparatory cycle (Grades 7–9) than in the primary cycle (Grades 1–6).
3. The average combined dropout rates for the first 5 grades, for the first 6 grades (primary cycle), for the preparatory cycle (Grades 7–9) and for the whole basic cycle (Grades 1–9) are 1.4%, 1.2%, 6.2%, and 2.9%, respectively.
4. The average female dropout rates in the first 5 Grades, in the whole primary cycle (Grades 1–6), in the preparatory cycle (Grades 7–9), and in the whole basic cycle (Grades 1–9) are 1.4%, 1.4%, 4.0%, and 2.3%, respectively.
5. The average male dropout rate for the first five grades is 1.3%, and for the whole primary cycle (Grades 1–6) is 1.1%, but for the preparatory stage (Grades 7–9) it is as high as 8.0%. The male dropout rate for the whole basic cycle (Grades 1–9) is 3.4%.
6. There are gender differences in all grades but not of the same type in all grades. In Grade 1, the male dropout rate exceeds the female dropout rate, while in all other primary grades (2–6), the female dropout rate is higher than the male dropout rate. In the preparatory grades, the gender difference is reversed and the magnitude of the difference has increased manifold. The male dropout rate is more than twice the size of the female dropout rate.
7. The upsurge of the male dropout rate in Grade 4 and then again in Grade 7 parallels the male repetition rates of epidemic proportions in those grades.

The percentage of students promoted to the next grade is largely determined by two factors: promotion policy and instructional effectiveness. In the Sultanate of Oman, both promotion policy and learning achievement standards play an interactive role in the promotion of students.

On the one hand, the MOE has a policy of "automatic" promotion in the first three primary grades and maximum promotion rate in all other grades, while on the other hand, in order to maintain some minimum achievement standards, it imposes rules and regulations for promotion of pupils from one grade to the next.

Starting from Grade 4, a pupil has to pass in all school subjects at the end of the scholastic year. The pass mark is 40% in all subjects except Arabic Language and Islamic Studies, for which the pass mark is 50%. Students who obtain pass scores in all subjects but fail in any two subjects (at most) are allowed to take the resit exam during the vacations before the opening of the schools for the first semester.

Table PR8 presents the promotion rates for Grades 1 to 9 for 1996/97 separately for male and female pupils as well as for both combined, and Figure PR8 gives a graphic display of the promotion rates.

Source:

Statistical Year Book, MOE, 1997/98.

We can see that for the first three grades the promotion rate is around 90%, and it is almost the same for girls and boys.

As we reach Grade 4, the combined promotion rate plunges to 85.6%. The setback is more severe for boys (82.4%) than for girls (89.3%), creating a substantial gender gap in promotion rates.

In Grade 6, the promotion rate is the highest of all 9 grades, especially for girls (95.21% in comparison with 90.6% for boys).

The promotion rate is at its lowest in Grade 7 for both girls and boys aggregated together as well as separately. It is nearly 72% for all, 83.3% for girls and 62.9% for boys, creating a huge gap of 20% between girls and boys. The average promotion rate across the 9 basic education grades is 89.41%.

The percentage of the cohort population of Grade 1 entrants surviving to a particular grade is a measure of the holding power and efficiency of an education system.

Students who survive to a particular grade without repeating any grade are survivors without repetition. There are students, however, who reach the designated grade after repeating one or more grades during their course of study. They are called survivors with repetition.

Survival rates with repetition by grade and by gender are presented in Table PR9, the graphic presentation of which is given in Figure PR9.

Survival rate to Grade 4 is 98% – over 97% for girls and approximately 99% for boys. In Grade 4, however, because of slight change in rules for promotion and repetition, both the dropout and repetition rates jump up and depress the survival rate to Grade 5 by 3% (3.2% for girls and 3% for boys), to 95.0% for both girls and boys combined, 94.5% for girls and 95.6% for boys.

Grade 6 being the graduation year of the primary cycle, the survival rate to Grade 7 is a critical indicator. From Table PR9 we find that the survival rate to Grade 7 is 93.3% for male pupils and 90.9% for female pupils, producing a gender gap of 2.4% and resulting in an overall survival rate of 92.1%.

A complete analysis of the data for 1996 and 1997 was conducted by the reconstructed cohort method provided by UNESCO in COHORT.XLS spreadsheet software. The detailed results of the Module Two output are given in the following Table PR10.