In an increasingly competitive job seeking environment, most employers complain that a good number of Omani jobseekers fail the English and mathematic tests.
This is also highlighted in a report by the World Bank that said that English, mathematics and science are areas that need to be improved in our schools.
The report recommended a review of the teaching methods in these three subjects. In basic education, Oman has over 1,600 schools, about 40,000 teachers and more than 600,000 students. About 90 percent of teachers, who teach the English language and mathematics in government schools, are Omanis. The review process should also include an assessment of their competence. We understand the need to Omanise teachers in basic education but it should not be at the expense of quality.
Employers are appalled when they see some of the results of tests before an applicant is interviewed. The national economy depends on good candidates applying for various jobs and it all starts with the level of competence in core study areas, primarily the English language and mathematics.
The report also recommended curriculum competency at international level in order to develop better human resources since the school pass-outs eventually go on to hold jobs in various positions. It is wrong to take for granted that employers will give jobs to a group of job-seekers and then put them in a classroom to brush up their English and mathematics competencies.
Private companies do not have the money or the time to do that. It is the job of the teachers to make sure they produce students who have a good command of the English language, both spoken and written, and an acceptable level of mathematical skills as well when they leave school.
It is also wrong, as many youngsters now realise, to say that Arabic is the national language and English is not important and they don't need to learn it. In workplaces, the bulk of the correspondence, reports and presentations are all in the English language as Oman increasingly becomes part of the international business community.
The way it looks now, schools produce students who fit basic requirements for employers for jobs such as security guards, drivers, receptionists, telephone operators, filing clerks, metre readers and other low level jobs that have no career paths towards executive positions. The bilingual Omani staff working in the private companies makes up only a small percentage and those are the ones who go up the career ladder.
Employers in the private sector are faced with the dilemma of looking elsewhere to make up for with their needs of people equipped with advanced skills. They cannot send poorly educated Omanis for specialized training abroad. It is not uncommon for expatriates to benefit from advanced training paid for by the companies because corporate houses do not have any other choice to ensure their businesses remain competitive.
The World Bank went further in its report by recommending a feedback from employers to the Ministry of Education so that the authority can improve its curriculum in the two core subjects. Currently, employers reject more than 60 percent of all applicants from among school pass-outs who fail the tests.
Company directors will only give their feedback if it is initiated by the Ministry of Education or a specialised organisation formed by the government. However, the need to work together is essential to improve the overall education system.
Currently, the Ministry of Manpower is taking the responsibility of paying for the English language and mathematics skills for job seekers if they fail to find jobs. Such a subsidy is expensive. Needless to say, it costs the government twice for something that should have been done in the first place.
Lack of good basic education for Omanis forces private companies to employ expatriates to fill the vacancies available.
Again, without elaborating too much, solid education makes the task of Omanisation faster. The other alternative is for the civil service to employ the 'rejects' of the private sector to keep the Omanisation process going. The only problem is that government ministries do not expand. They have to wait for someone to retire to create a job or simply employ people for the sake of keeping them from creating trouble on the street.
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