Oman grapples with severe shortage in number of teachers

Oman Friday 15/July/2016 20:26 PM
By: Times News Service
Oman grapples with severe shortage in number of teachers

MUSCAT: A shortage of teachers in the Sultanate is a cause for concern as there is roughly only one teacher for every 100 students, according to Ministry of Education’s statistics.
Last month, the Shura Council held a meeting with the Minister of Education, Madiha Al Shaibani, where a member expressed his concern over the ‘excessive’ number of students in one class in a government school, which had 30 students per class.
The rapid increase of students and a high birth rate has triggered demand for more teachers to be hired in the education sector.
According to Alpen Capital’s Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Education Sector Report 2016, it is forecast that there will be 1,115,486 students by 2020.
In general, there will be a 3.6 per cent increase in the number of students in the GCC by 2020, which will jump from 12.6 million to 15 million. In terms of annualised growth during 2015 to 2020, the number of students in Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are projected to grow faster than the other member nations,” read the report.
However, in Oman (and the GCC), with the increased number of students and lack of schools, it is equally difficult to hire qualified teachers, especially nationals in private and international schools.
“The shortage of teachers in the region is the second highest in the world due to an overall dearth of teachers globally, coupled with a low pool of nationals inclined towards pursuing teaching as a profession in the GCC,” the report emphasised.
“Moreover, the dependence on expatriates, who are transient by nature, is further challenging this availability,” it added.
The increase in the number of students would mean an increase in schools, as well as the need for more teachers in the Sultanate.
International and private schools are also gaining popularity among parents as more opt to send their children to these schools, considering its bilingual curriculum and high quality of education; and as students increase, more schools will be needed.
“Omani families continue to seek an education for their children, which will leave them bilingual and with an understanding of the international business culture, and the coping skills necessary to succeed in the global arena,” said Danny Harrison, chief executive officer of Al Omania Education Services.
“The market needs are diverse, and whilst the number of bilingual international school models are growing and attracting investment, there is also expansion in the purely foreign curriculum schools. Consequently, there is a lot of jostling for market share and the schools that consistently deliver quality education will enjoy long term fruits. On the flip side, the region has seen the demise of a number of operators, who over-promise and under-deliver with catastrophic consequences,” he added.