Muscat: The Shura Council's Education, Scientific Research, and Innovation Committee convened experts from the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Innovation to discuss students' eligibility for financial allowances for private higher education institutions.
This meeting was conducted to follow out His Majesty's instructions on the subject.
The meeting, led by Jamal Ahmed Al-Abri, the committee chairman, and attended by their Excellencies, focused on the methods for establishing these criteria.
The committee highlighted the need of updating the rules because of their impact on groups considered ineligible, stressing the value of equality and the requirement that all domestic scholarship students in private schools be eligible for these allocations, in line with public higher education institution standards.
The committee also voiced public discontent with the allocation of financial entitlements to particular groups based on criteria, particularly Omani families with children who do not qualify.
They observed that the existing criteria do not always represent families' true financial situations.
The specialists clarified that the eligibility requirements for financial grants for domestic scholarship students are based on various characteristics, including family income, the number of family members, and the distance between the student's home and study location.
They also mentioned that the ministry had received several requests from parents and community groups asking for a review of these standards.
The committee reviewed the report from its meeting with the Oman Authority for Academic Accreditation and Quality Assurance of Education to discuss school education evaluation policy.
It also reviewed the Ministry of Education's 2024 annual report, as well as other subjects included in the committee's current regular session work plan.
