Oman education: New international school to be built in Duqm

Muscat: A new international school will be built in Duqm. The school will have 100 classrooms with a maximum of 2,500 students and both Omani and expatriate students can enroll in the school.
An agreement has been signed by the Special Economic Zone Authority in Duqm (SEZAD) and Al Tamman Holding Company today, to construct an international school in Duqm.
The proposed school will start its operation in September 2018 on a land area of 15,000 square meters. It will be a co-education school catering to students from age group of 3 to 18 years.
The new educational establishment, to be named as A'Soud Global School, will deliver international school programs based on the IGCSE curriculum.
The company expects to start the school with 166 students in its first year, and then reach 1,729 students over 10 years.
In addition to classrooms, the school facilities will include labs for science, ICT, physics, chemistry and biology, audio-visual room, library, Arabic tutoring rooms, yoga room, swimming pool, football pitch, basketball, volleyball and badminton courts, and various sports facilities.
The institution will be set up in two phases: phase I will have a built up area of 6,500 square meters, while phase II will have an area of 5,500 square meters.
It will be a global school having an integrated focus on academics, social services, community development and community engagement leading to improved student learning and healthier community.
The school will also offer a personalised curriculum that emphasizes real-world learning and problem-solving thereby helping students to acquire skills for designing their future in a society that is increasingly dependent on imagination, creativity and innovation.
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According to Al Tamman Holding, the school will keep its service open to all families in the community. “We are committed to operating an open and fair admissions process. The school shall be non-selective, and will not require children to sit for an entrance test before admission in Kindergarten. Students seeking to join the school at Grade 1-5 or other non-standard times may be assessed to check that the school can meet their individual and group needs,” stated the Company’s representative.
British National Curriculum
“The school will follow the National Curriculum of England. This Curriculum, commonly known as the ‘British National’ Curriculum, is extensively used by international schools around the world. It is a detailed, planned and integrated scheme covering a child whole school experience, from the age of 3 to 18. It is a skill-based curriculum, served by many excellent textbooks and resources, with its own testing mechanism. It fits into the English public examination system (IGCSE, AS & A Level), which is accepted by universities throughout the world. The school will be an approved center for the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate and for London University,” added Mohapatra.
The estimated investments of the company in the international school project is OMR6.5 million, including OMR4 million for infrastructure and OMR2.5 million in form of working capital.
According to the feasibility study prepared by the company, the school will generate a fair number of direct, indirect or induced jobs estimated at 50 for senior management, academic and administrative staff in the first year rising to 124 in the fifth year and 183 in the 10th year.
Other than the direct jobs, the school will outsource various activities which would include transportation, facilities management, security, landscaping, tours, medical services, sports etc. resulting in an indirect job creation for at least 200 people in the next five years. During construction stage, it will also create ample job opportunities for local contractors.
The school will follow the directives of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said underlining the growing need for collective efforts to boost Omanisation.
The school will employ Omani nationals based on their qualification and availability for the positions of Deputy Head Teacher, teachers of Arabic and Islamic, teachers of social studies, assistant teachers, administration and support staff like PRO, security, drivers etc.
It expects to achieve at least 25 per cent Omanization by the 5th year of operation.
Yahya bin Said bin Abdullah Al-Jabri, Chairperson of SEZAD, signed the agreement on behalf of SEZAD, while Himansu Mohapatra signed it for the company in his capacity as its general manager.