MUSCAT: The Student Supporting Fund set up by the University of Nizwa is stepping forward in Oman’s Vision 2040 by providing a diverse funding source for sustainable education. The Fund provides full and partial scholarships, with partial funding for services such as accommodation, transportation and nourishment as well as the Isnad programme.
The University of Nizwa established the supporting fund (Ma'en) in 2004. It started with an ambitious initiative with a greater goal of providing help to financially distressed students until it becomes the first of its kind in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of the services and the support it offers on the level of academic Institutions.
Isnad is a paid training programme where students are assigned tasks to complete under the supervision of a university employee. There are different categories of Isnad, Administrative, Technical, Academic and Research. All of these categories are trained in university facilities.
Administrative Isnad is trained in the university library, departments and deanships. Technical Isnad is trained in labs, the Natural and Medical Sciences Research Centre, and the IT department. Academic Isnad is trained in the learning and enhancement centre. Research Isnad is trained in Unesco Chair on Aflaj Studies and DARIS Centre for Scientific Research and Technology Development.
The payment earned is used to cover the students’ financial dues to the university, such as accommodation, transportation, or percentage of study fees. The student would be contributing to the payment of the fees side along with gaining experience to meet the requirement of the labour market.
Isnad programme is enhancing the quality of students’ outcomes. Fatima al Rawahi, an administrative Isnad student at the Media and Marketing Department, said. “I have joined the Isnad programme to help in the payment of my study fees. I have gained personally from the training programme as I have discovered my abilities and become more confident."
Intisar al Toubi, an administrative Isnad student at the awareness programme, said, “I wanted to help my family in paying my study fees, therefore, I joined Isnad programme. I have been in this Isnad for two years now and I have learned how important it is to be punctual and responsible of handing out my tasks.
Student Supporting Fund has been giving back to the university community over the past 18 years. The fund’s support in the year 2004-2005 was more than RO 730,000, and reached by the end of the year 2020 more than one million, which is an accurate indicator of the development and support the Fund provides to the university students.
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