MUSCAT: The Ministry of Education on Tuesday signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Oman Environmental Services Holding Company (SAOC) to implement and develop supporting curricula activities in the field of waste management. The deal targets school students at various levels and serves as an enrichment supplement to the current curricula in various educational stages, in the office of the Under-Secretary for Education.
Dr Abdullah bin Khamis Ambosaidi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Education for Education, signed the memorandum with Eng Tariq al Ameri, CEO of the Omani Environmental Services Holding Company. The signing ceremony took place at the office of the Under-Secretary for Education.
Dr Yahya al Harthi, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Curriculum Development, said: “This memorandum came to review the scientific content of the academic subjects, to identify the concepts of waste management contained therein, explicitly or implicitly, and to harmonise them with the concepts that are required to be strengthened in order to achieve harmony between the concepts of waste management with other environmental concepts, within the scope of sustainability and circular economy. The importance of this memorandum stems from building awareness and knowledge about modern values and concepts of waste management among school students, by preparing a concept document that can be used and referenced when composing or developing curricula, and designing educational activities supportive of environmental culture and natural resources, to be activated in the school environment in line with modern teaching strategies.”
Eng Muhannad al Jumaa, Director of Bee’ah Academy at the company, said: “The memorandum came within the framework of the strong strategic partnership between the Ministry of Education and Bee’ah, which is represented in a number of projects and initiatives that focus on promoting the concepts of sustainability and circular economy among the younger generation as the leaders of change in the future. In the past period, the current curricula for all educational levels were analysed by a team from the Ministry of Education to know the aspects in which the concepts of sustainability and resource management will be included in the updated curricula.”
He added: “This proposal is in line with the Oman Vision 2040, and its basic themes and pillars that place the environment and sustainability at the forefront of its priorities in a way that advances the human being and society. The trend towards enhanced educational content in the field of resource management harmonises with the country’s strategic direction and aims to increase the contribution of the environmental sector to the Sultanate of Oman’s economy.”
The Ministry of Education aims to create a culture of waste management among young people, and build appropriate levels of awareness and knowledge to realise the potential and future of the waste management sector, the importance of the circular economy, and to create an educational system that enhances values with modern and sustainable curricula, as the trend towards enhanced educational content in the field of waste management is a response to the country’s strategic direction aimed at increasing the contribution of the environmental sector in Oman.
