Muscat: The Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MoHERI) on Thursday signed an agreement of cooperation with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) to fund 170 scholarships for General Education Diploma (GED) graduates of the school year 2020-2021.

The agreement was signed by Dr Rahma Ibrahim al Mahrouqi, Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation and Abdulamir Abdulhussain al Ajmi, Director of External Affairs and Value Creation at PDO.

The agreement allocates a sum of RO 3,774,000 provided by PDO to fund Bachelor Degree scholarships for students from the concession areas. Those scholarships will be in private universities and colleges in Oman. Medicine and veterinary medicine are excluded from the offered scholarships. The agreement connects development projects with the society to affirm that the citizens are the key goal of development.

Through this agreement, MoHERI aims to promote cooperation with the private sector, as well as to encourage companies to contribute in offering educational opportunities for GED graduates in the Sultanate of Oman. — ONA