With social media rife with speculation on having the Cambridge curricula for science and mathematics students in the Sultanate of Oman, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has issued a clarification.
In a statement, MoE said these curricula were accepted to meet the goals and priorities of Vision 2040, the requirements of the labour market, and to meet the standards of students in science and mathematics on par with the international level, which will also enable them to compete with counterparts in international competitions and studies.
"The international curricula were selected following a clear vision, and as per statistics, more than 160 countries apply these curricula at the rate of 10,000 schools. Around 93 per cent of the graduates have been accepted into universities, of whom 70 per cent have been accepted into the top 500 universities in the world that recognize Cambridge qualifications."
Globally, more than 2,000 educational institutions, including the 20 best universities in the world, recognize the Cambridge curricula, which relies on scientific investigation and problem-solving methods, the statement said. Responses from parents have been cautious.
"These curricula can adversely affect the scoring ability of students and we just hope they get adequate guidance to take advantage of this new system," said a parent of a tenth-grade student.
Badr, a parent, said, " Over issues with the education system cannot be just revamped with new curricula. In line with the requirements of Vision 2040, we hope the administrations will also take into account the other challenges facing the system."
These curricula follow the spiral principle in presenting topics, where learning is spread over time rather than concentrated in shorter periods.
Before accepting the Cambridge curricula, MoE said it studied the experiences of bilingual private schools globally, in which the high level of achievement of their students and their excellence in two subjects (science and mathematics in particular) was evident. It had formed a committee of curricula specialists, educational supervisors, and experts, which also launched awareness campaigns between 2017 and 2019. The technical team also made sure to harmonize these curricula with the Omani identity, national and culture, customs, traditions, and principles of the Islamic religion, apart from training supervisors and teachers on the appropriate teaching methods and lesson planning.
The international study Timss 2019 that provides the best policy-relevant information to help improve mathematics and science teaching and learning, showed a significant improvement in results for the fourth grade compared to the Timss2015 session, MeE said. Timss 2019 included student, teacher, and school questionnaires and the Early Learning Survey (also called the “home questionnaire”) completed by students' parents or caregivers. As for the sub-division of science subjects in the ninth and tenth grades, this was done after a study and based on the observations and opinions of the educational field that confirmed the need for a scientific approach with a specialized teacher in each branch. It was also in response to the demands of specialists from the members of the community who believed that giving the student a deeper understanding of the science can only be achieved by subdividing this subject into its basic disciplines (physics, chemistry, and biology).
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