Saturday 20 / April / 2024
Muscat: Oman’s Ministry of Education has laid out its plans to mark International Literacy Day.
Every year on September 8, the Sultanate participates in celebrating International Literacy Day. This decision was made post the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, issued in 1966 that stipulated September 8 to be the annual International Literacy Day.
On this day, the whole world commemorates a day of solidarity with people and groups that are illiterate. It aims to reinforce efforts in fighting illiteracy and to realise a basic human right, the right to education. The plan is to educate adults, and focus on providing educational opportunities to senior citizens.
To achieve the desired goal, the Sultanate has made great efforts to eradicate illiteracy.
The Sultanate has committed regionally — represented by the Ministry of Education — to implement the terms and recommendations of the Arab Decade for Literacy (2015 to 2024).
The Ministry has focused on the age group from 15 to 44 during the current decade, through developing appropriate plans and strategies and by strengthening partnerships between official institutions, the private sector and civil institutions to achieve it.
The percentage of illiteracy in this age group stood at just 1.85 per cent by the end of 2018, compared to 2.2 per cent in 2015, which marked the beginning of the Arab decade.
Qualitative achievement
This is a qualitative achievement in the elimination of illiteracy in the Sultanate, which seeks to achieve its commitment by 2024.
A pioneering project that the Ministry of Education had implemented was the ‘Learning Village’ project, which is still open and spreading across the various governorates of the Sultanate. The project has the greatest impact in accelerating the eradication of illiteracy.
By the end of 2018, close to 30 villages were educated.
Another literacy programme, the ‘Co-operating Schools’ project has provided significant support from public schools throughout the Sultanate, including the opening of literacy classes within the school or providing outside assistance, through taking advantage of the potential and services provided in this area. By the end of 2018, the number of co-operating schools reached 96.
In addition, the project titled ‘Literacy of Omani Illiterates in the Islands and Marine Villages’ is among the new projects that have played a role in the literacy of the Omanis residing in the islands of Al Hallaniyat in Dhofar Governorate, Masirah in South Al Sharqiyah Governorate, and the marine villages of Lima and Kamzar in Musandam Governorate.
The project will run for a total of three years — having begun in the academic year 2017/2018 — with approximately 75 students.
Another project, that aims to improve the literacy of workers in the private sector, is a project based on cooperation between the Ministry of Education and the private sector.
It began in the academic year (2018/2019) and the duration of study in this project is a single academic year with intense study plan to teach Arabic, Islamic studies, and mathematics to ensure their freedom from illiteracy.
In addition, a project entitled “Literacy for People with Disabilities” was launched in the academic year 2018/2019 to educate the illiterate disabled citizens and residents across the Sultanate. The project was implemented in co-operation with other ministries and concerned authorities.
The Ministry of Education calls on citizens who have the opportunity to be educated to attend literacy classes in order to help eradicate illiteracy as a common national responsibility, and to contribute effectively to social and economic development and to serve and achieve overall social welfare.
