Muscat – In her statement at the ongoing Shura Council session, hosted by H.E. Khalid bin Hilal Al Maawali, Chairman of the Council, H.E. Dr. Al Mahrooqi emphasized the Ministry’s commitment to meeting the Sultanate’s labor market needs through external scholarships in critical specializations.
“The Ministry is working on external scholarships in the specializations needed by the labour market in the Sultanate of Oman,” she stated. Criteria for these scholarships include selecting institutions with strong academic reputations and providing high-quality education.

Highlighting recent educational developments, the Minister noted the introduction of new programs and specializations over the past three years. These include medical laboratory sciences, energy engineering, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, data analysis, augmented and virtual reality, robots, and smart systems.

Additionally, Her Excellency announced scholarships to the Duqm University College, offering specializations in Management and Commercial Transactions and Architecture and Construction, with the first session starting in the academic year 2025-2026.

Regarding scholarship statistics, H.E. Dr. Al Mahrooqi reported a significant increase. “The number of external scholarships offered reached 535 in the academic year 2023-2024, compared to 312 scholarships in 2021-2022,” she disclosed.

Moreover, she highlighted the allocation of 724 full fee-paid internal scholarships by private higher education institutions and an additional 264 scholarships from private sector companies for the academic year 2023-2024.

Dr. Al Mahrooqi also announced forthcoming changes in the executive regulations of the Higher Education Law aimed at facilitating the equivalency of qualifications, promising streamlined procedures for students.