The means of the percent correct scores of the different regions in each achievement test are presented in Table LA5, and the graphic view of the regional differences in Grade 4 students’ achievement in Arabic, Science, Maths and Life Skills is shown by Figures LA5a, LA5b, LA5c and LA5d, respectively.

Although most pair-wise differences were not statistically significant, the trends, however, are quite clear. On the whole, Dhofar seems to lead the better scoring group of Dhofar, Al Dhahirah, Sharqiya South and Dakhiliya, while Al Wusta’s performance is at the bottom in all the subjects. Muscat is near the higher end and the others fluctuate in the middle.

Regional differences and their determining factors need to be investigated more thoroughly in order to inform appropriate policy measures and action plans to address the issues in adequate manners.

Before the renaissance in 1970, the Sultanate had no national education system or educational infrastructure. Consequently, illiteracy was rampant among the masses. Realizing the central role of education in national development, the Government of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has made relentless efforts to spread education and reduce illiteracy. The first three Five-Year Plans concentrated on opening schools and spreading basic education throughout the country.

By the end of the third Five-Year Plan in 1990, the year of the World Declaration of "Education for All by the Year 2000", the Sultanate had taken great strides towards making provision for spreading basic education for all and removing illiteracy from the masses (aged 15 years and over).

In the field of providing access to education, the country had achieved impressive results. The primary gross enrolment rate had reached 95.4% in 1990/91, while the primary net enrolment had reached 80.4%. The primary cycle included Grades 1 to 6. At the same time, the gross enrolment rate for the preparatory cycle (Grades 7–9) had reached 59.1%. Basic and secondary education was free for all students, including expatriates.

Parallel programmes and campaigns to create an awareness of the importance of education in the masses were organized and carried out diligently, using appropriate mass media including electronic media, printed matter, and social and religious community platforms.

Given the magnitude of the problem of adult illiteracy, progress in this field, despite sustained effort, has fallen short of expectations. A situation analysis conducted by the MOE in 1992 estimated the number of illiterates aged over 10 to be 300,000, of which about two-third were female. These estimates were substantiated by the actual census data collected in December 1993, the analysis of which revealed the figures reported here in Table AL1.

The 1993 census enumerated the number of illiterates aged 10 years or more to be 304,652 of which 196,478 (64.5%) were females and 108,174 (35.5%) were males.

Figure AL1 clearly shows that the rate of illiteracy among the 10-year + males was 22.1%, while the illiteracy rate among the same age female population was 41.8%, almost twice as much. Among the whole population aged 10 years or over, the illiteracy rate was 31.8%. Among the 15-year + population, the illiteracy rate is higher because the illiteracy rate was, and still is, highly correlated with the age of the population as well as with gender.

Table AL2 presents the gender difference caused by commonly prevalent social practices and family traditions related to the level of educational attainment of the 15+ Omani population.

Source:

A Statistical Profile of Omani Women. Based on data supplied by the Department of Illiteracy and Special Education. Status of Illiteracy in Sultanate of Oman. S.M.T 27 Date 31/1/99

The percentage-frequency distributions of the total, male, and female 15+ populations across seven levels of education are presented in the first three columns. The fourth column shows the women’s share (in terms of the percentage of women) in each category of education level. It can be seen that 41.2% of all citizens aged 15+ were illiterate, of which 64.3% were females and 35.7% males, but of the male 15+ population, only 28.9% as opposed to 53.9% of the female 15+ population was illiterate in 1993.

As the education level increases, at each successive level the female share decreases while the male share, being complemental, increases. In the "read and write" category, the women’s share falls to 39.6% while the men’s share rises to 60.4%. Of all the people who have primary school education (18.9% of the total 15+ population) 36.8% are females and 63.2% males.

In the next successive categories of education level, the percentage of educated people – in the total population as well as in the sub-populations of men and women – continues to fall; the percentage of women within their sub-population in each category of education still remains lower than that of men in corresponding categories. The women’s share is 41.5% in preparatory school education, 36.6% in secondary education, 39.7% in Intermediate/Technical Institute education, and 23.2% in University level education.

Despite the gender gap in education, it is encouraging to note that at the preparatory level 41.5% of all people with a preparatory qualification are females. The women’s attainment rate of 11.7% is almost three-quarters of the attainment rate of their male cohort (15.9%). At intermediate level too, women account for almost two-thirds of all graduates, with a rate of achievement 70% or seven-tenths as high as that of the men. The university degree and higher level education is still very low, only 11,129 persons, comprising 1.5% of the total 15+ population in 1993.

The situation since then, however, has changed. According to a MONE survey in 1996 (only three years later), the number of BA/BSc or higher degree holders had increased to 13,718 of which 30.11% were female, an increase of about 9% over three years. The gender gap in higher education was reduced by 14% – the gender gap ratio in 1996 was 0.44 as compared to 0.30 in 1993. This means that the rate of higher education in women increased from 30% of the rate of higher education in men in 1993 to 44% in 1996.

Since the opening of Sultan Qaboos University, remarkable progress has been made in this direction. The consolidated effort of the Ministries of Education, Social Affairs, Labour and Vocational Training, and Health, and of various NGOs concerned with Women’s Development, Environment and child issues, has made significant breakthroughs in the direction of social and economic progress by providing opportunities, mobilizing resources and changing the attitudes of the masses through advocacy, education and information programmes using multimedia of all sorts.

Results of a national sample survey conducted by the Ministry of National Economy in 1996 showed a reduction of over 9% in the 15+ illiteracy rate over the short span of 2½ years. Table AL2a presents comparative literacy rates among 15+ males and females in 1993 and 1998.

Source:
The Ministry of National Economy, Letter No. 15/1/311/75/99.

It is clear from Table AL2a that the illiteracy rate in the 15+ population reduced from 41.2% in 1993 to 32.1% in 1996. The illiteracy rate for males fell from 28.9% to 21.0%, and for females from 53.9% to 43.3%. Although up-to-date estimates are not available, the current illiteracy rate is expected to be substantially lower than it was in 1996.

Rural and urban area differences exist in the illiteracy rates and education attainment of both men and women, as well as differences in people’s attitudes, beliefs, values and practices related to female children, women’s education, and women’s participation in social and economic development. The following Table AL3 presents the data on rural/urban differences.

Source:

A Statistical Profile of Omani Women Based on data supplied by Directorate of Illiteracy and Special Education "Status of Illiteracy in Sultanate of Oman". S.M.T. 27 Date 31/1/99

The rural 15+ population as a whole, as well as male and female tracts separately, have much higher illiteracy rates than their respective urban cohorts. Moreover, the gender gap is wider in the rural population than the in urban population. In the "read and write" category, though there are no differences in the attainment levels of rural and urban people, the gender gap is wider in the rural region. As we move along the levels of education upward, the rural/urban gap takes wider proportions in all three strata of the population (total, male and female).

At the university degree or higher level, the attainment of rural males is only 20% of the achievement of their urban cohort, while that of females is still lower, only 10% of their urban cohorts. This is not to say that little has been done to reduce regional and gender inequalities, or to enhance adult literacy and adult education in all parts of the Sultanate. In fact, adult literacy rates have made a substantial improvement over the past 10 years.

By December 1993, the illiteracy rate had been brought down to 31.8% among the 10+population (41.8% for the female stratum and 22.1% for the male stratum), while literacy among the primary age level population was approaching universal proportions. At the same time, among the young population (10–14 years old), the literacy rate was over 96% (98% among males and nearly 95% among females). This was an impressive achievement of the education sector and the Government’s longstanding policy of human resources development to achieve national self-reliance in the supply of the domestic workforce. As stated earlier, within a short span of 2½ years, the 15+ illiteracy rate had reduced to 32.1% in 1996, a reduction of over 9%.

As a result of the Government’s determined effort and its mobilization of large resources, the Omani education system today reaches the whole population and provides free basic (Grades 1–10) and secondary (Grades 11–12) education to all citizens. In the younger population, the gender gap, as well as the regional gap, has been substantially narrowed down.

The Government is currently pursuing a comprehensive approach to human resources development, based upon community participation, intersectoral and intrasectoral collaboration, and central and regional coordination among the ministries concerned, public institutions, the private sector, and NGOs.

The following section gives a brief description of the Government programme of Adult Literacy and Education, followed by presentation of the data on the overall performance of the programme.

The programme targets all of the illiterate Omani population aged 10 years and over, who could not attend school due to whatever reason.

The whole programme entails two stages. The first stage includes two years of literacy education leading to an educational level equivalent to Grade 4 of the primary cycle. Those who successfully complete the 2^nd year of the illiteracy programme are eligible to enter the adult education programme (second stage). The second stage is three tier – the 1^st tier corresponds to Grades 5 and 6 of the primary cycle, the 2^nd tier to the 3 years of the preparatory cycle (Grades 7–9), and the 3^rd tier to the 3 years of secondary education.

The adult education programme is delivered both formally and informally. Formal classes are conducted in adult education centres, while informal education employs various types of delivery systems which are appropriate for the purpose and conveniently accessible to learners in the different regions.

Regardless of whether instruction is formal or informal, all students have to sit for the national examinations. Adult students can continue education to university degree and higher levels.

Certificates are awarded to all successful candidates on the completion of each cycle. Top students are honoured with prizes and awards. Each literacy graduate is given a free kit of 30 books to motivate him/her to further develop their literacy skills. The best teachers are also given awards for their outstanding work and effort.

Both adult literacy and adult education classes are held in school buildings or social community centres, or other buildings or rooms donated for this purpose by individuals or organizations. Timings are flexible and decided according to the convenience of the learners in each community.

The school year for illiteracy eradication (literacy) classes is 8 months long, with 15 periods a week for male students and 16 periods for female students. The extra period for females is devoted to teaching home economics.

The curriculum and time allocation for each subject for the 1^st and 2^nd year of the literacy education programme is as follows:

Adult education and illiteracy eradication inspectors assume responsibility for following up the implementation of the programme.

The Ministry of Education has developed and published a kit of 30 books specifically prepared to stimulate interest and to cultivate reading habits in newly-literate adults. The topics, content and difficulty levels of the "Adult Readers" were selected so that they would be appropriate and relevant for the needs and cultural context of adult readers with a primary level or less education.

The Ministry of Education reconstructed the literacy education curriculum, and prepared more appropriate textbooks for Islamic Studies, Mathematics and General Knowledge for women.

Table AE1 presents the number of literacy centres, classes (1^st year and 2^nd year) and students by gender in the Sultanate of Oman for 1990/91 to 1997/98. A visual display of the growth (in reality, the decline) of literacy centres, literacy classes and enrolments is given by Figures AE1a, AE1b and AE1c, respectively.

The table reveals the following facts about the history of the literacy programme in
the 90s.

1. The number of centres, classes, and participants (both male and female) has fluctuated – the pattern of their rise and fall is clearly visible in each figure.
2. The total number of centres was 241 in 1990/91. The following year, it went down to 228, i.e. 13 centres were closed (in fact, 14 female centres were closed and one new centre was opened for males). The following year, the number of centres rose from 228 to 240, an increase of 12 centres (5 male centres were closed down but 17 new female centres were opened). The next year, in 1993/94, the total number of centres took an upward trend and rose from 240 to 252 (in fact 8 male and 3 female centres were closed and 25 centres were opened). Having reached a peak of 252 in 1993/94, the number of centres has taken a steep fall and consistently declined over the last four years to reach the lowest mark of 148 in 1998, which was due to large drop out of male participants and the consequent merger of some center together.
3. The number of male classes has steadily fallen from 53 in 1990/91 to just 7 in 1997/98.
4. The umber of female classes, however, steadily rose in the first three years , from 302 in 1990/91 to 358 in 1992/93, whereupon it took a downward turn and reached 219 in 1996/97, to rise again to 233 in 1997/98.
5. The number of participants has had similar oscillations to those which were recorded for centres and classes. Figures AE1a, b, and c exhibit the historical ups and down in the progress of the adult literacy programme during the 90s.

The 1993 census revealed a disproportionately large share of women in each age stratum of the illiterate population. In the following paragraphs, we analyze women’s relative participation rate in the literacy classes, starting from the introduction of adult literacy programme in 1973/74 to date.