MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Education, celebrated World Teachers’ Day (October 5) with this year’s theme ‘the transformation of education begins with teachers’.

Also known as International Teachers’ Day, it is a day to celebrate, thank and honour teachers for their contributions to their students.

October 5 was proclaimed as World Teachers’ Day by UNESCO in 1994, with the aim of honouring the adoption of UNESCO/International Labour Organisations Recommendation and Education International.

At the Specialized Institute for Vocational Training for Teachers, the Ministry of Education trained teaching staff with the latest technologies and assessment bases and to form a group of educational competencies capable of making a positive change in the field of learning.

The institute is currently implementing a series of training seminars targeting specialized teachers for all subjects, such as English, science and mathematics series programs, the Arabic language curriculum updates program, and training in remedial programs for learning difficulties.

The institute also implements a number of national training programs, such as the enrichment program for new teachers, the training program for teachers of grades (2-9) to address learning loss among students, and the specialized program for graduates of the Bachelor of Education (pre-school/kindergarten/early education) to enroll them as a teacher A first field in public schools, the Exam Vocabulary Program for Science and Mathematics Series (Cambridge), the Advanced Skills Program in E-Learning that targeted teachers and the management and supervision category.

The Ministry of Education, in cooperation with the concerned authorities in the Sultanate, is working to prepare a broad base of teachers who are qualified in modern educational skills. The Ministry, in coordination with the Unified Admission Center (UAC), carried out the executive procedures for the teacher preparation and qualification programs to enter the educational qualification diploma program in a number of higher education institutions. With the aim of qualifying graduates with university qualifications in non-educational disciplines to join the teaching profession according to the needs of the field and the total seats has been increased to 4500 this year.

According to the national statistics published on the website of the UAC, the percentage of those admitted to higher education in educational disciplines for the year 2021-2022 reached 5.6 percent of the total students enrolled in various higher education institutions in the Sultanate, including 410 male and female students at Sultan Qaboos University and 291 at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences including 51 within the ‘Program for Localizing Teaching Jobs in Remote Villages’ in the Bachelor of Education for Scientific Subjects.