MUSCAT – These admissions are for students who completed the General Education Diploma or its equivalent during the 2024/2025 academic year.

Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Azri, Director General of HEAC, explained that the government higher education institutions accounted for the largest share of accepted students at 56.3 percent. The percentage of students who were accepted through internal scholarships in private institutions reached 41.4; 2.3 percent were through external scholarships.

Al Azri noted that 95 percent of available study seats were filled during this first round, with the remaining 5 percent left vacant due to a lack of eligible candidates meeting the required admission criteria.

He added that 43,145 students successfully passed their diploma exams, of which 9,432 students achieved an average of 90 percent or higher, while 20,383 students scored 80 percent or higher.
Al Azri emphasised that educational specialisations saw strong competition. The minimum accepted scores for these programmes were as follows:

Sultan Qaboos University: 92.3 – males, 97.5 – females
University of Technology and Applied Sciences: 93 – males, 97.5 – females
Private institutions (excluding localised teaching programmes): 91.2 – males, 97.4 – females.
As for flexible external scholarships, the last accepted competitive rate in the (STEM) programme was 98.2, and the ESAM programme was 97.5.

The director explained that students accepted into flexible internal scholarship programmes have the freedom to choose both their higher education institution and minor specialization, as listed in the student guide. These selections can be made via the unified admission system between Tuesday, August 19, and Thursday, August 21.

Students who received admission offers in this round are required to complete registration procedures with their respective institutions by 12 noon on Sunday, August 24.

Al Azri announced that following the first screening, the HEAC will open the system for private admission, which applies to students interested in self-funded study at Sultan Qaboos University or one of the following private universities: Sohar, Nizwa, Dhofar, and Al Sharqiyah. He pointed out that registration in the system will be available starting from Monday, August 25, until September 3, and the names of students nominated for admission tests will be announced on August 31, 2025 – the sorting results will be on Monday, September 1.

He stated that the centre will offer a selection modification service from Monday, September 15 to September 16, to help students apply for vacant seats after the first round of admission. This service is available to all students, regardless of whether they received a study offer in the first round or were not previously registered in the system.

He concluded by saying that students wishing to submit grievances can do so through the Unified Government Services Portal, further strengthening government efforts to facilitate access to e-services and facilitate transactions with ease.