MUSCAT — The Sultanate of Oman will mark this Thursday, 20th November its Glorious National Day, commemorating the Al Busaidi State Foundation Day on 20 November each year. This historic occasion embodies the patriotic spirit of this blessed nation’s people as they advance with renewed determination to build their homeland under the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik.
The profound pride of the nation’s Monarch in the people of Oman reflects the deep unity between the Leader and his loyal citizens. This national cohesion represents a fundamental element in the success of achievements realized during this era of renewed Renaissance. Throughout history, the Omanis have stood united as an impregnable fortress, guided by enlightened faith.
The supreme commitment to developing education, higher education, scientific research, and innovation has been manifested in significant accomplishments aligned with “Oman Vision 2040” priorities. During his visit to Sultan Faisal bin Turki School for Boys in the Wilayat of Al Amerat, His Majesty the Sultan emphasized the crucial importance of equipping students with knowledge in modern technology and integrating it into educational processes across schools destined to become future models. The total number of educators reached (66,379) male and female teachers, distributed across (1,303) schools. The number of administrative and technical staff in government schools amounted to (11,183), comprising (4,420) males and (6,763) females. Regarding the number of teachers in special education schools, it totalled (241) male and female educators, with the aggregate count of administrative personnel in special education schools being (46) male and female administrators.
During this year (2025), (16) new school buildings were received to be operationalized across (9) educational directorates, comprising (4) schools in the Muscat Governorate educational directorate, (3) schools in the North Al Batinah educational directorate, (2) schools in the South Al Batinah Governorate educational directorate, in addition to (2) schools in the Dhofar Governorate educational directorate, and one school in each of the A’Dakhiliyah Governorate educational directorate, the South A’Sharqiyah Governorate educational directorate, the North A’Sharqiyah Governorate educational directorate, the A’Dhahirah Governorate educational directorate, and the Al Wusta Governorate educational directorate. The construction of these schools has observed the highest standards of security and safety.
Oman’s education sector demonstrates positive development in academic and research infrastructure, as evidenced by the 2026 rankings from the British institution Quacquarelli Symonds. The QS World University Rankings 2026 features five Omani higher education institutions, with Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) achieving remarkable progress by advancing 28 positions to secure 334th place globally.
The Sultanate of Oman is making dedicated and systematic efforts to bolster scientific research and innovation, a commitment that has yielded significant returns as evidenced by its notable ascent of ten positions in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index over a four-year period, advancing from 84th to 74th place. Concurrently, the nation has achieved substantial improvement in innovation outputs, climbing 23 positions from 109th to 86th place.
Under the academic sector’s “Performance-Based Institutional Funding Program,” support has been extended to approximately 2,228 research projects between 2018 and 2024. The past year alone witnessed the funding of 475 research initiatives with a total allocation of approximately RO 2.4 million. The Strategic Research Program, designed to address specific challenges within government entities, has supported 74 research projects. Meanwhile, the industrial sector’s ” EJAAD” Program has facilitated 61 research projects with a total investment of RO 2.5 million
