SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Health Services

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said attaches great importance to healthcare in Oman, and has stressed its importance to social and economic development. Since 1970, Oman’s health services have expanded enormously, delivering huge improvements in the standard of healthcare.
Today, Omani citizens receive excellent service from an efficient, integrated health system that has been praised by international bodies including the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF and the United Nations Development Fund. The WHO report for the year 2000 named the Sultanate as the country that had achieved the greatest progress in improving health standards and ranked Oman eighth in terms of overall health care.
Set up in 1970, the Ministry of Health was initially the only body providing health services and in 2002 provided 87 percent of the country’s hospitals and hospital beds, and 90 percent of outpatient clinic and inpatient services. As prevention is better than cure, preventive health services are provided for both adult and infant diseases.
The Sultanate has been polio-free for eight successive years and had no cases of diphtheria since 1992. Only fifteen cases of measles presented in 2001, compared with 1,262 cases in 1990.
Diarrhoea cases fell to 299 cases per 1,000 children aged under five in 2001 from 497 per 1,000 in 1995, a drop of 40 percent. Acute respiratory infections fell by 38 percent over the same period. A national anti-malaria programme launched in 1991 has reduced the number of confirmed cases from 32,000 in 1990 to 635 in 2001.
Hospitals are equipped to provide high quality outpatient and inpatient services covering several specialist areas including internal diseases, surgery, paediatrics, gynaecology, obstetrics, orthopaedics, eyes, ENT, skin diseases and oral health.
Referral hospitals have clinics for disease and tissue diagnosis, laboratories and radiology departments. Most regions have district and local hospitals that provide specialist secondary health care. In 2001, outpatient clinics handled 10 million patients, and Omani hospitals treated 226,000 in-patients and carried out 100,000 surgical operations.
Before 1970, barely 100 people were employed in health, with just 13 doctors: by the end of 2001, 17,054 staff were employed including 2,374 doctors and 6,901 nurses with Omanisation levels standing at 56 percent. Sultan Qaboos University’s College of Medicine trains Omani doctors, whilst nurses, pharmacists, dental hygienists and other categories of auxiliary medical staff are trained at 15 government institutes.
In Muscat there are 7 government and 3 private hospitals, and over 600 health centres and clinics (including one which caters for the staff of Petroleum Development of Oman only)
The Royal Hospital is a specialist hospital with 633 beds. It has an accident & emergency department with state-of-the-art equipment in paediatric, maternity, surgical, cardiac and radiotheraphy departments. In addition the kidney unit carries out transplants.
Khoula hospital has 477 beds and specialities include orthopaedics, burns, plastic surgery, gynaecology/obstetrics, physiotheraphy and general medicine.
Al Nahdha hospital has 114 beds and specialises in ear, nose and throat problems, along with dermatology and dentistry.
Ibn Sina hospital has 66 beds for patients with psychiatric and drug abuse problems.
Sultan Qaboos University hospital is now taking a growing number of patients in order to give their students practical experience.
The Armed Forces and ROP hospitals cater for members of their services.
Dhofar’s main hospital is the 450-bed Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah. The hospital has installed specialist units for intensive care, accident and emergency, artificial kidneys and a burns and cosmetic surgery. Dhofar has five small hospitals with up to 28 beds for patients and expectant mothers. Dhofar has 538 hospital beds, and 25 health centres.
There are six hospitals in Dakhliyah. The 301-bed Nizwa Hospital, the region’s referral hospital, was rebuilt and opened in 1998. The region has 547 hospital beds, a polyclinic in Nizwa and 10 health centres. Sharqiyah region has ten hospitals and 725 hospital beds. Ibra Hospital (123 beds) is the regional referral hospital for North Sharqiyah, which has nine health centres. The new 243-bed Sur Hospital is the regional hospital for south Sharqiyah, which has a polyclinic in Sur and 11 health centres. Batinah region has ten hospitals and 773 hospital beds. The 363-bed Sohar Hospital is the regional referral hospital for North Batinah, which has four polyclinics and seven health centres. The 235-bed Rustaq Hospital is regional referral hospital for South Batinah, with two polyclinics and nine health centres.
Dhahirah region has five hospitals. The 240-bed Ibri Hospital is the region’s referral hospital. The region has 413 hospital beds and 12 health centres. The Governorate of Musandam has three hospitals, with 140 beds, and three health centres. Wusta region has two hospitals, with 52 beds, and seven health centres.

Education

In 1970, there were three schools in Oman, with 30 teachers and just over 900 pupils. Today, there are over a thousand schools.
In 1998/9, Oman introduced a new education system, comprising Basic Education over ten years, and Secondary education for two years. After completing their secondary education, successful students can study at specialist colleges, or at Sultan Qaboos University. In future, students will be streamed at secondary level, to focus on careers that will require technical and vocational training.
Education, once confined to the governorates of Muscat and Dhofar in 1970, has expanded nationwide. In the 1990s, primary school education spread quickly: by 1995/6, there were 1,046 schools in Oman, including special education schools and private schools. More than half a million young Omanis – 506,543 students – were enrolled in these schools.

More than 70 schools were built in 2000, another 300 were upgraded and 12 schools were under construction. In 2002 tenders were invited to build 23 new schools and in 2003 tenders will be invited for 43 schools. In the 2002/3 school year, 89 new primary schools will be added.
Oman is to build three schools for students with learning difficulties, one of which will replace an older government-run school. Omani schools employed less than 32,000 teachers and 1,028 technical and support staff in May 2002.
Omanisation reached 71 percent in teaching and 96 percent in school administration by 2002.
In 2000/1, 32,545 students graduated from public high schools; 16,832 students graduated with qualifications in science, and 15,713 students graduated with qualifications in the arts.
The number of high school students increased to 33,772 students in 2020; 19,491 specialising in science and 14,821 specialising in the arts.

Education reform

The new Basic Education System consists of two phases: basic education in two cycles i.e. from 5-10 years and from 11-15 years, and secondary education, which extends over two years. It aims to teach communication and learning skills, critical thinking, science and modern technology. 288 schools will follow the Basic Education System in the 2002/3 academic year.
The second phase of Basic Education was implemented during 2001/2 in 59 schools (30 for boys and 29 for girls), and in five schools open to students who have completed grade four in basic education. The first basic education group will graduate at the end of the 2006/7 school year. Education reform places new importance on information technology training, even at basic level, and the government has decreed that each course will be assigned to a single teacher in future.
Oman encourages private investors to launch schools supervised by the state, but help to reduce government investment in schools. By 2002/3, there were 134 private schools.

Literacy

Oman’s sixth and seventh five-year plans aim to eradicate adult illiteracy, teaching Oman’s estimated 108,000 illiterate adults to read and write. Adult education started in 1974/5. By 2001/2 there were 346 literacy centres in Oman, with 418 male and 5,214 female students, 2, 214 adult education centres had enrolled 8,696 students, and a further 18,540 students signed up for free education.
Oman celebrates annual Arab Literacy Day every January. Government campaigns highlight the consequences of illiteracy for both the individual and society. During World Literacy Year in 1990, incentives were offered to Omani teachers, supervisors and directors.
Students who graduate from literacy programmes to university are honoured by the government, together with ordinary citizens who promote literacy. In 2000/1, Omani high school graduates were recruited to promote adult literacy in remote areas. The 2001/2 school year saw 127 students – mostly women – trained to promote literacy programmes.

Special needs

The Department of Special Education was launched in 1974/5, to provide education and rehabilitation for students and adults with special needs. Initially, it sent students to schools in other Arab countries. In the 70’s, Oman launched classes for deaf and dumb children, and the Amal School for the Deaf and Dumb was launched in 1980. A boarding class was added in 1982-1983. In 1984, Oman launched a school for students with learning difficulties. During 2001/2, 587 students were enrolled in special needs schools.
January 2002 saw the launch of the privately-funded Omar bin Al Khattab Institute for the Blind in Seeb. A prominent businessman paid for construction and labour, and the Institute teaches 300 visually impaired students from across Oman. In 2001/2, government officials focused on ways to integrate students with special needs in mainstream schools.
The Centre for the Care and Rehabilitation of the Disabled in Al Khoudh provides welfare, education and rehabilitation for adults with disabilities. It aims to integrate people with special needs into the community through programmes that encourage people to overcome disability to lead normal lives. Offering psychological and physical support and vocational training, the centre finds employment to match the clients’ potential. In 2001/2, 100 trainees were enrolled on courses in carpentry, metalwork, needlework and dressmaking, domestic science, typing and computing.
Fourteen Al Wafa voluntary social centres for the disabled care for 1,282 children in the regions, assisted by volunteers and a private sector company. These centres provide work with handicapped children, teaching them to become self-sufficient and develop their talents and potential.

Sultan Qaboos University (SQU)

Since SQU opened in 1986, the number of students has increased from 557 students to 10,902 in 2001-2002. The university develops its teaching, scientific and social research, working closely with other academic institutions. It has seven colleges: Engineering, Sciences, Arts and Social Sciences, Commerce and Economics, Medicine and Health Sciences, Education, and Agriculture and Marine Science.
Its reputation rests on its research laboratories and on its highly qualified teaching staff. Sultan Qaboos bin Said visited the university in May 2000, launching a new debate about the value of history, scholarship and learning, and encouraging students and lecturers to adopt a conscientious and pragmatic approach. His Majesty donated OR 5 million to build a multi-purpose auditorium to host university activities with space for more than 6,000 people.

Opened in 1989, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital is a training institution for College of Medicine students, which has 500 beds and sophisticated equipmen.

 In 2001, 546 Omani doctors graduated from the College of Medicine. Sultan Qaboos University runs several other highly specialised scientific and research centres:
• Centre for educational technology
• Language centre
• Centre for information systems
• Educational research centre
• College of commerce and economics information centre
• College of arts and social sciences’ radio and television studio
• Solar cells testing centre
• Water desalination research station
• Agricultural research station
• Earthquake detection centre
• Virtual reality carbonic study centre
• Energy research centre

Research is a priority at Sultan Qaboos University. In 2001, the university generated more than a hundred published research projects and conference papers. It collaborates with international scientific institutions, including the Japanese Organisation for Renewable Energy, the Japanese Petroleum Centre and the Middle East Research Centre for Water Desalination, and has embarked on joint scientific and research projects with German, British and French universities.
Sultan Qaboos University is emerging as a centre of excellence in the fields of energy, water desalination, the treatment of palm tree mites, archaeology and earth sciences.

Teacher training

Oman launched teacher training in 1976, offering three-year training programmes to preparatory school graduates. Since 1980, Teacher Training Colleges have accepted general secondary graduates on a one-year programme. More than 2,500 graduates have qualified at these centres. In 1984, Oman launched two colleges of education to run one-year and two-year post-secondary teacher training courses. By 1990 there were nine such colleges across Oman.
In 1994, two colleges were designated university colleges and began to award BA degrees in teaching, one in Nizwa for male teachers, and the other in Rustaq for female teachers.
The Ministry of Higher Education was created under Royal Decree 2/94. It is responsible for the institutes of higher education and funds scholarships, to ensure equal opportunities for students with high academic qualifications.
Royal Decree 42/95 transferred responsibility for the male and female colleges of education from the Education Ministry to the Ministry of Higher Education. Nine intermediate colleges were restructured to create six university colleges. Candidates compete for places against students from across Oman and are accepted on the basis of availability. By 2001/2, 8,896 male and female students enrolled at teacher training colleges and 6,049 students graduated with BA degrees.
In 2002 programmes were launched to recruit more than 9,700 people – mostly women – to reverse a shortage of female staff due to sick leave or maternity.
Oman provides scholarships for students, employees and post-graduate students. Scholarships funded by the government and other bodies supported 977 male and female students studying Masters and Doctorate degrees at universities and colleges abroad in 2001/2. Post-graduate students were studying a range of subjects, including applied sciences, commerce, management and arts?

The Sharia and Law College

The Sharia and Law College was set up in 1997 to train nationals in the judicial field. The first batch of 103 male and female students graduated in the 2000-2001 academic year. The college offers four-year BA degrees, and 530 male and female students were enrolled at the college in 2001/2. The college teaches Islamic Sharia, law and Islamic studies, training specialists in law, the judicial field and Islamic affairs. It prepares young Omanis to fill judicial posts and to carry out research in the Islamic and legal fields.

Private colleges and universities

Oman has invited the private sector to establish universities, colleges and institutes, supervised by the Ministry of Higher Education. By 2001/2, the private sector had set up twelve private universities and university colleges:

• Sohar University
• The College of Administrative Sciences
(renamed as Majan College)
• The Modern College of Business and Science
• Muscat College of Modern Sciences and Technology
• The Caledonian College of Engineering
• The National College of Science and Technology
• Mazoon College of Administration and Applied Sciences
• The Fire Safety Engineering College
• Al Zahra College for Girls
• Oman Medical College
• Sur University College
• Waljat University College

Most private academic institutions have links with recognised outside bodies to ensure high standards and enables private colleges to award recognised qualifications. The student intake of private colleges rose from 2,079 students in 1999/2000 to 5,496 in 2001/2.

Social development

The government oversees 212 welfare bodies around the country, which provide Omani citizens with the resources that they need for a decent, comfortable life. The state pays monthly benefits to people with disabilities, the elderly, widows, divorced women and other groups covered by the Social Security Law. It also provides practical and financial aid for victims of natural disasters or other misfortunes.
During 2001, RO 1,794,585 was paid out a month to 45,649 social security claimants. Emergency aid was given in cash or in kind to victims of natural disasters and those in need of assistance or relief following a catastrophe.
To reduce the cost of social security, subsidies and training for people on low incomes to run their own businesses are offered and officials approved 172 projects during 2001, of which 17 were handed over, 107 were withdrawn and 48 are operating efficiently. Training in crafts and traditional Omani industries is provided and the government promotes them at local exhibitions and outside Oman. The biggest training scheme teaches dressmaking and needlework to Omani girls. In 2001, 190 girls joined courses on embroidery, needlework and dressmaking.
The traditional public meeting place, sabla, is the social centre of the Omani village. People meet to discuss local affairs, and celebrate weddings and other events. In 2001, 32 sabla building projects were supported by the government.
Charitable and other initiatives from public and private sector institutions are encouraged.. In 2001, four non-government associations, four professional associations and two friendly societies were launched. Foreign communities can form social and cultural associations and at present there are six social clubs (and two club branches) for expatriate communities living in Oman.

Women’s development

The Omani Women’s Associations (OWA) were formed to recruit women for voluntary social work and give them a greater role in the country’s development. Today, 27 local OWA groups have 2,965 active members. Women’s groups run lectures, seminars, exhibitions, workshops and training courses.
The Women’s Voluntary Work Co-ordination Committee encourages women to take up voluntary work, co-ordinates women’s associations around the country and encourages women to take part in activities. Women’s training centres and rural development centres offer support in wilayats where there are no Omani Women’s Associations.
There are 17 such centres, which offer a range of social, cultural and economic programmes to promote social development. In 2001 3,817 women attended these women’s centres. An additional 14 rural centres in remote regions provide training in crafts and traditional industries such as home-made foodstuffs, and other social and development programmes.
Public education programmes provide families with general advice and support. A social database is being completed on the needs of women and their children, as a reference tool for future plans and projections of social welfare needs. Field studies are also being carried out on social phenomena to combat anti-social behaviour.
The 41 kindergartens attached to the Omani Women’s Associations and women’s training centres have 1,544 pupils. A further 32 infant schools had 2,959 pupils in 2001/2. The Children’s Care Home provides social care, shelter and sustenance for children needing care and protection. Thirty private sector day nurseries cater for 1,346 children.
In 2002 new initiatives will be studied, including the prevention of begging, community projects and research on social development, creating a children’s sector programme and training of volunteers to carry out social and community work.

Technical education

Technical education is a government priority, to meet market demand for trained manpower. The number of Higher Technical Industrial Colleges increased from just one in Muscat in 1984, to five around the country by 1993, when the government converted vocational training institutes in Nizwa, al Musana’ah, Ibra and Salalah into technical colleges.
Oman’s technical colleges launched the Omani National Diploma (OND) programme in 1999, a programme that offers intensive theoretical and practical training, to provide scientific and technical skills. The OND programme trains young Omanis as technicians, and graduates can obtain higher certificates. A short BA programme is to launch at the Higher Technical College in Muscat soon.
Technical colleges offer a range of disciplines to meet industrial sector demand for technical qualifications. The main subjects offered under the OND programme are mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, business studies and information technology, architecture and science. The OND programme is taught in English. During 2001/2, 2,204 male and female students joined the five TICs.

Vocational training

Vocational training provides manpower with technical qualifications and skills. It contributes to Omanisation and helps to fulfil Oman’s manpower requirements. Oman’s current five-year plan and the 2020 Vision of Oman’s Economic Future provide for vocational training to meet demand for special skills. In 1999 Omani Vocational Qualifications (OVQ) were launched, linking training to demand for skilled and semi-skilled manpower.
Training takes place at vocational training centres in Seeb, Saham, Sur and Ibri. In 2001/2, these centres took in 1,841 trainees. Between 1994/5 and 2000/1, they produced 4,730 semi-skilled graduates and 2,574 skilled graduates. The subjects included motor vehicle mechanics, carpentry, electricity, general mechanics and building construction.
The government has tried to ensure that the government and private vocational training sectors complement each other. Training courses based on the National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) system have been introduced at training centres with certificates awarded by British institutions.
The 164 private institutes and centres offer training in technical, vocational and administrative disciplines. The courses include the NVQ and National Projects, where the student pays for his or her own tuition or wins state support. The NVQ system was introduced in 1996 and National Projects in 1998.
Private Funding:In March 2002, one of Oman’s largest private sector conglomerates announced that it was setting up its own training fund for young nationals: it pledged a start-up grant of RO 250,000, to be phased in by 2006. The firm pledged to donate RO 100,000 during 2002. The Fund, which aims to boost the government-led Sanad programme, will provide scholarships for young Omanis to study abroad, and fund other specialist training.

Omani National Vocational Qualifications (ONVQ)

This system has five levels, from basic to upper management or advanced vocational skills. Each Omani National Vocational Qualification consists of units, each representing a component of the job the student is qualifying for. Tutors evaluate the student’s performance and on-the-job potential. By 2000, 12,213 men and 4,748 women had enrolled on ONVQ courses at private institutes.
Training and employing Omanis is an urgent government priority. The Ministry of Manpower has drawn up a plan of action to improve the performance of government departments, planning, training and employment services for citizens and make it a priority to employ nationals to replace expatriate labour.

Omanisation

Omanisation aims to create rewarding and stable job opportunities for citizens. The strategy launched in 1978, when the Ministry of Manpower issued Decision 5 which restricts certain private sector jobs and professions to Omanis. As growing numbers of young Omanis enter the labour every year, full employment is its top priority.
Employment figures from the manpower and employment register show that 37,059 nationals were registered for work and 45,480 nationals found jobs to replace expatriates in the private sector in 2000/1. A detailed labour guide has been produced to monitor Omanisation in the private sector. Teams visited 3,276 establishments in Muscat in 2000/1 and identified 2,964 vacancies.
The recruitment of expatriate labour is now being regulated more efficiently, with systems to deal with absconding employees and to ensure that expatriates are employed legally. Labour agreements are reviewed to comply with the Sultanate’s policies. In 2000/1 the recruitment of 168,962 expatriates was authorised, linking the issue of expatriate recruitment permits to available national manpower so that eligible nationals filled job vacancies wherever possible.
A plan of action was launched in 2002, to regulate the recruitment of expatriate labour, expanding and improving the ministry’s technical and vocational training centres, and the centres that it supervises.

The plan highlights the partnership between the government and private sectors. This includes the Sanad Manpower Employment Project (SMEP) and the govern-ment/private sector Omanisation teams and committees. These committees will replace expatriates, provide more jobs for nationals, encourage individual enterprise, restrict certain occupations to Omani nationals, improve technical education and vocational training, and promote greater private sector involvement in education and training.

Youth, sports and culture

Young Omanis are the backbone of the future. The government is determined to develop their sporting, cultural, intellectual, social and scientific potential to contribute to development, and bring international honour and renown to Oman.
The General Organisation for Youth, Sports and Cultural Activities (GOYSCA) organises and oversees youth, sports and cultural activities. The youth and sports sector is expanding and around 34,000 athletes, young people and members of other social groups benefited from the organisation’s services in 2001/2. During 2001, seven new clubs were opened to cater for a range of sporting, cultural and social activities.
During 2001, Omani teams won 91 medals and its national Under-17 football team represented the Arab world and Asian continent as Asian champions at the Under-17 World Cup finals in Trinidad and Tobago. This was only the third time that the Omani youth team had taken part in the championship.
The team won the first Under-17 Gulf Cup in Bahrain. Dhofar Club from southern Oman came third in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) clubs’ championship football series, held in the United Arab Emirates.
Oman achieved impressive results in swimming, tennis, and shooting. Internationally, its swimming teams won 31 medals in 2001, and the athletics teams won 21 medals, tennis stars won seven medals and the shooting team won 19 medals. Oman’s weight-lifting team won seven medals, the volleyball team won one medal and the hockey team won three medals. Ruwi Club team came third in the GCC youth cultural competition in Salalah.
In 2001, 2,035 young people took part in various events and programmes at youth venues throughout the country. These complexes provide indoor sports, swimming pools, gymnasiums and medical centres, art studios and science clubs. Teams from Arab and other countries trained in the Sultanate’s excellent facilities.
The Oman Olympic Committee was created in 1982. During 2001, it staged a series of Olympic days in Oman, which involved nearly 6,000 people. Events included football, handball, basketball, hockey, volleyball, lawn tennis, athletics, table tennis, swimming and cycling, and less well-known events such as bowling, and weight-lifting.
Five national work camps were held which attracted more than 1,000 young people. More than 700 young Omanis joined educational trips during the summer holidays to explore Oman’s heritage and history.

Scouts and guides

Scouting in Oman dates back to 1932, when a schoolmaster founded the first organised scout pack at the Saidiya School in Muscat in 1948. Scouting for girls was introduced in 1972, and the Oman girl guides celebrated their silver jubilee in 1997. The National Organisation for Scouts and Guides (NOSG) was launched in 1975. In 1983, Sultan Qaboos was named Chief Scout, in recognition of his keen interest in the scouting movement.
The movement has 647 scout leaders and 571 guide leaders and assistants.

2001/2 saw the launch of a 47-strong scout band. Five scout and guide camps took place at the Sultan Qaboos scout camps near Muscat, and two summer camps were held in Dhofar which attracted scouts from the United Arab Emirates.
Last year saw the launch of a website for Omani scouts at www.omanscouts.250x.com.

Population policy

Population policy aims to balance population growth and resources, and represents a framework for resolving questions of fertility and family growth. Other demographic changes are important – particularly domestic migration patterns, the environment, advances in the position of women, human resources and family support.
Oman has set up a national committee to create a national population policy, using the results of studies carried out by population specialists, and will include a projection of future population growth. The policy framework includes population and natural resources, family rights and groups needing welfare, public health, family planning, human resources, and public information, education and communications.
Sustainable human development is a concept used internationally that emerged after a succession of development models failed. The United Nations Development Programme has expanded the concept to encompass human development and sustainable environment, to safeguard future generations.
In 1990, the first world report on human development launched an international debate. The Council of Ministers directed that reports be prepared on human development in Oman to expand and improve education and health. It will help the Sultanate to channel its efforts towards the 2020 Vision of Oman’s Economic Future.
The report helps to promote awareness of human development and creates a better understanding in Omani society, providing a scientific basis to compare different human development indicators at home, in the region and abroad.
The report will make human development more clearly defined, and provide a broad view of the concept rather than focusing on individual facets. Specific topics will be explored in future reports. The report will form a theoretical and practical point of reference covering all elements of human development, and highlighting the links between those elements.

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