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Since 1970, Oman has achieved tre-
mendous efforts to secure education
for all the children through the public
education system. Currently, after 45
years, the main concern of educational
systems is the efficiency of the outcomes
ofthiseducation.TheMinistryofEduca-
tion in cooperation with the World Bank
has published a very interesting Journal
in 2013 entitled The Drive for Quality.
The notion of quality of education is very
concerning in Oman especially when the
outcomes do not meet the general expec-
tations. These expectations are rational
especially when the Sultanate spends
around 10% of its budget on education.
It has become important that Oman’s
unstainable resources should be used
prudently before they vanish. The falling
oil prices is a wakeup call that highlights
the question of quality of education of
the generations who are expected to take
part in the country’s economic develop-
ment.
SQU is the best high educational in-
stitution in Oman. However, its inter-
national ranking has been decreasing
rapidly. According to QS, SQU ranking
has dropped by 200 points in two years:
from 400 in 2012 to 600 in 2014. In ad-
dition, 44% of the students at SQU spend
longer time than expected according to
a study published in 2012. This may not
mean that SQU’s education quality is de-
creasing but it might be a slow competi-
tor in the swift world-wide development
of the universities. The Drive for Quality
journal points out “The challenge of im-
proving education quality is not insur-
mountable for Oman, but it will require a
shared vision, careful planning, focused
use of resources and collaborative work
involving all relevant stakeholders”. This
article shares a vision of a student at the
English Department at SQU concerning
the quality of education.
The English Department is known
with its outstanding outcomes due to
its professional faculty, learning ori-
entated students, and high standards
of education polices. However, one of
the challenges that students may face
is the intensive focus on the quantita-
tive approach rather than qualitative
approach. The quantitative approach
focuses more on the students’ perfor-
mance and productivity throughout the
assessments. This approach is very im-
portant to guarantee that students work
hard. The logical argument goes that if
students graduate with poor outcomes,
which do not reflect their competence,
it will affect the Department reputation
negatively. Moreover, if this approach is
not followed, graduates may not be able
to accomplish the tasks assigned to them
in their future jobs.
However, the process of securing high
quality of education should not depend
on the qualitative approach without the
quantitative. The quantitative policy
might be good to push the students for-
ward to work hard to survive the proba-
tions. Nevertheless, it is likely to push
the students to memorize for the exams
and focus on the materials that are only
included. Therefore, the students are
not able to abundantly comprehend the
ultimate goal of their subjects. Competi-
tiveness is vital but it should come along
with a secured high quality of educa-
tion instead of solely depending on the
quantitative and performance approach.
Contemporary studies in the field of edu-
cation methods suggest that beside per-
formance, a space should be given to stu-
dents in which they can see that they are
achieving their individual learning goals.
The qualitative method focuses more on
the process through which education is
attained. Therefore, it is vital that the
English Department attempts to adopt
new approaches towards how education
is attained.
One of the main indicators that QS
bases its evaluation on is the interna-
tional diversity of both students and
faculty. Securing high quality of educa-
tion can start with initiating an interna-
tional partnership with one of the world
high ranking universities. This partner-
ship will be valuable for both students
and faculty. One of these advantages is
that through this partnership, exchange
programs can be initiated. For language
specialists, it is vital that students share
their experiences with other interna-
tional students, which will enable the
students to have a broader prospective
of various skills that they need to devel-
op. Currently, the students who depend
on the study-plan may graduate with a
very confined local experience. However,
sharing the students’ learning experi-
ences may give them the opportunity to
compare their progress internationally
whether through travelling abroad or
hosting students from abroad. Addition-
ally, more access to scholarships is need-
ed to secure a high level of education
quality. An annual international confer-
ence of the English Department should
also be initiated where both instructors
and students can share their research
at an International level. This will not
only help raise the university’s ranking ,
which is one of the overall indicators of
QS, but also will dramatically enhance
the quality of education and outcomes.
ThethirdoverallindicatorofQSevalu-
ation and ranking is related to the teach-
ing and learning environment which is
another reinforcing part of the qualita-
tive approach. Initiating better experi-
ential learning through training might
secure a better learning and teaching
environment. Training is currently part
of two out of three specializations in the
English Department. With better train-
ing that does not follow the old training
techniques, experiential learning can
help the students realize the importance
of developing their skills that fit their
future jobs. More access to internships,
jobs and required training at both local
and international level can help secure a
very high quality of education.
Cooperation between the various job
market establishments and the educa-
tional institutions is vital. This can help
shape the quality of education which
may include more courses or drop oth-
ers without affecting SQU’s ultimate goal
which is seeking knowledge. The Drive
for Quality 2013 points out that although
it might seem difficult to reach a high
quality of education, it is not impossible.
More investment and funding in the edu-
cational field are vital in order to reach
outcomes exemplified in self-motivated
outstanding students. Additionally, the
quality of education is everyone’s re-
sponsibility; therefore, everyone should
be part of shaping Oman’s provision for
a better education.
Hi There !
Editorial Coordinators
Amur Al Aamri
Manal Al Nadabi
Design by:
Mazin Al Riyami
HiSQU is brought to you by the English and Translation Society at SQU.
Email your views / suggestions / articles to hisqu2022@gmail.com
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VOL 07 ISSUE 04 / JUNE 5. 2015
It’snottheblowingofthewind,
it’sthesetofthesail —Mr. Wise
SQU English Department Policies and Outcomes
by Rajwa Al Rusheidi
College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences
by Al Mahanad Al Badi
College of Arts and Social Sciences, English
Cheers till we meet next time
Hi SQU Team
Summer is in the air and SQU cannot be any hotter by the
beginning of this week. Not by the sun - although we can’t
deny that too- but the business of tests, presentations, as-
signments, projects and of course events. Between the chal-
lenges we as students face in our educational process and the
participation in the social and academic events and of course
the need to be set free and get away a little bit from all the
craziness of the being-an-SQU-student. In this issue, we’ve
combined 3 literatures that reflect the dimensions of which
we as students live. Being a student, being a participator, and
being a free soul abstracted from the world’s additions.
Our main article is a coverage of the Seventh Scientific
Agricultural Festival organized by the Agricultural & Marine
Society in SQU. The festival contains sixteen projects made
by the students that compete to win the votes of the col-
lege doctors and visitors. To know more about the event, read
Rajwa Al Rushaidi’s article titled: “The Seventh Scientific Ag-
ricultural Festival”.
Away from the atmosphere of festivals and celebrations,
we’ll explore the academic life of SQU students and the chal-
lenges they face to keep their feet on ground. Al Muhanad Al
Badi has written an article about the approaches followed by
the educational institutions, SQU in particular, to evaluate the
student’s performance. Don’t miss reading his article titled:
“SQU English Department Policies and Outcomes”.
By going through the two previous articles, you, our dear
reader, might have illustrated an image of the life and the
needs of SQU students. Fatma Al Kharousi, has illuminated
the other dimension of the picture. How the students feel
about themselves, about life and their visions and dreams.
Don’t miss her poem titled: “The Opened Cage”.
We’re always glad to hear from you, our dear reader. Don’t
hesitate to send us your pieces, suggestions, or inquires. The festival included sixteen projects
from different departments of col-
lege of Agricultural and Marine Sciences
(CAMS)withaparticipationfromtheso-
ciety groups such as Soil, Water and Ag-
ricultural Engineering Group (SWAE),
Natural and Resource Economics Group
(NREG), Marine Sciences and Fisheries
Group (MSFG) and Nutrition and Food
Sciences Group (FSHN). Moreover, pu-
pils from Asia Bint Muzahim School also
participated in the festival. The students
introduced a project that redesigns and
studies the school gardening system in
the aim of improving the educational
outputs. “The purpose of the festival is
to support the culture of innovation and
putting the students’ innovative projects
under the light, emphasizing on their
benefit to the agriculture and marine
sectors in the Sultanate” said Usama Al
Adawi, head of AMMS. “Those projects
can help diversifying the sources of in-
come and coming up with agricultural,
economical and industrial solutions”
Usama adds.
The sixteen projects were competing
to get as many votes from the college’s
professors and exhibition visitors. The
best three project were to get a cash prize
as a reward. The judging board included
Dr.Saed Al Esmaili, Assistant Dean of
Collage of Agricultural and Marine Sci-
ences, Dr. Nashwan Abdulwahab, PHD
in Agricultural Economics and Moosa
Al Faraei, TV programs host. “The event
was interesting and comprehensive for
all departments in the college of Agricul-
tural and Marine Sciences . It offers so-
lutions for issues such as water shortage
and salinity which are the biggest chal-
lenge that face the agriculture sectors”
Dr. Nashwan Abdulwahab said. “I was
happy to see the most intelligent of SQU
students and their abilities to show their
projects in an academic and scientific
atmosphere” Dr. Nashwan Abdulwahab
added.
The festival was followed by an Open
Day on Wednesday in the agricultural
experiments station at SQU. Differ-
ent activities were held such as theater
shows, horse riding, face painting, foot-
ball matches and others. “The purpose
of the Open Day is to gather all agricul-
tural students and others in an enjoyable
environment” Amani Al Hadi, AMMS
vice president said. The event has ended
by announcing the winner department
projects which were department of Soil,
Water and Agricultural Engineering in
the first place, while department of Food
Sciences and Human nutrition in the
second place and department of Marine
Sciences and Fisheries in the third place.
Wishing the other groups the best luck.
The Seventh Scientific Agricultural Festival
Agricultural and Marine Sciences Society (AMSS) had organized the Seventh
ScientificAgriculturalFestival.Theopeningoftheeventwasunderthepatronage
ofAlShaikhMuhammadBinAbdullahAlHinai,thecountryadviser,onMondayat
the Exhibition Hall at Sultan Qaboos University.
It is a bird that
Flies far away
From his sad cage and
Looks happily
To the spacious sky
He dips his wings
Into the golden rays:
Freedom to sing
Freedom to dream
Freedom to live
No fear of being caged
No sorrow, no gloom
All he wants is
Flying in the breeze
Floating on the lake
We all want freedom
As much as that bird
We all want that
Oxygen for our souls
The Opened Cage
by Fatma Al Kharousi
College of Education, English