The first batch of this new education graduated this academic year and the occasion was marked by a grand graduation ceremony for the first group of class 10 students. It may be noted the number of basic education schools started with only 17 schools in 1998 have grown to 589 in 2006-2007. The number of students at present is 250,266.
The implementation of the basic education system involved a comprehensive reform of the educational process and philosophy and included aspects such as length of school year and day, the layout of school buildings, student-class ratio, textbooks, teaching methodologies and assessment and evaluation instruments. The education ministry decided to introduce 10 grades of basic education over a nine-year period, covering three of the government’s five-year plans. The first batch of students graduated from grade 10 at the end of the 2006-2007 and was felicitated at a grand ceremony recently.
Dr Muna bint Salim Al Jardaniyah, Under-Secretary of the ministry of education for education and curricula, said the envisaged results of the basic education system have proved useful in the light of the permanent blessings and continuous care accorded to the march of education by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
