Muscat: With the start of the new academic year in November just round the corner, the Ministry of Education, represented by all its departments in the governorates, continues its preparations to provide education through various technical platforms in the light of adoption of blended education system this year due to the outbreak of the corona pandemic.
During this week, schools in different governorates have started handing over study books to students, based on specific timetables for each class separately, to avoid overcrowding at the delivery point.
Faisal al Busaidy, Assistant Director-General at the ministry’s General Directorate of Information Technology, said: “In the past, training courses for teachers were conducted on using various educational platforms according to different packages. The ministry worked to prepare appropriate content for blended education requirements and to implement educational evaluation mechanisms while applying health protocol in blended education schools.”
The work on educational platforms and uploading of all curricula, activities and necessary assessments, which started last May is already completed, the ministry said. This comes as part of preparing an atmosphere for remote study for students of the first and second cycle in light of the Supreme Committee’s instructions to begin study for all students on November 1 and to adopt blended education curriculum according to the density of the schools, with emphasis on activating distance education.
Earlier, Dr Madeeha bint Ahmed al Shaibaniyah, Minister of Education, gave all educational directorates in the governorates powers enabling them to implement remote education at a rate of not less than 90 per cent according to a number of determinants. The directorates notified their affiliated schools on the type of education approved for this year, each according to its circumstances. In addition, the directorates have provided CDs to schools which do not have Internet services, including explanations and educational courses provided by specialised teachers.
TV CLASSES
Also, many educational lessons will be broadcast through Oman TV channels, which is in line with what will be presented in the different classes in the educational platforms.
Al Busaidy added that the ministry has made a partnership with a number of government institutions as well as private sector to reach the goals of the educational process.
“The ministry has sought to coordinate with the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology for performance tests on educational platforms. There is also coordination with others regarding basic infrastructure like Internet,” he said. “The ministry has also signed a number of agreements which support blended education and distance learning initiatives that will be implemented during the current year to enhance the ease of educational workflow and e-learning strategies, including, for example: a partnership with Omantel to create Google Classroom, with Ooredoo to execute a platform for first cycle, with Occidental Oman to implement an electronic preparation platform for teachers, and a partnership with the National Bank of Oman to finance the national library project, which will contain enriching media and learning resources.”
DIGITAL PLATFORMS
Through these platforms, students will be able to attend lessons, interact with activities, and do their homework. There will also be a simultaneous education service with visual communication between teachers and students. These platforms will allow students to be divided according to academic divisions, giving indications about the students learning process, and will also contain questions banks, media, etc. “They simulate what is in the actual school community,” Al Busaidy said
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