Ministry mulls private investment in public schools

MUSCAT: The Ministry of Education has formed a committee to lay down the procedural steps for running and managing some public schools by private companies. The committee, led by Saud bin Salim al Balushi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Education for Educational Planning and Human Resources Development, will finalise its task by the end of August this year. The committee will prepare an elaborate study on the economic feasibility of running and managing some government schools by private companies, review the experiences of some countries which engaged private investments in the public education system and study the effect of private investments on the quality of education in public schools. Other tasks of the committee include laying down the legal framework, regulations and standards required for privately operated public schools, coordinating with the departments concerned to provide the facilitations for private firms and encourage them to invest in the public educational system.