fbpx
Market intelligence for international student recruitment from ICEF

Recruiting in Oman

At roughly 4.6 million people, the Persian Gulf state of Oman (officially: the Sultanate of Oman) is the third-most populous country in the region, after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. With more modest oil reserves than many of its neighbours, the economy of the country is also more diversified than many in the region. Along with oil exports, Oman has notable strong tourism, fishing, and agriculture sectors in particular. Oman is a young country with a high birth rate, and more than 40% of Omanis are under the age of 15. These factors have combined to drive significant modernisation and diversification efforts in the country’s economy, and they have played a part as well in establishing a strong tradition of study abroad. The latest UNESCO figures indicates that the number of Omani students enrolled in higher education abroad rose by more than 50% between 2011 and 2016. As of last year, there were nearly 15,000 Omani students enrolled abroad. This growth has been driven in part by a significant expansion of government scholarship support since 2011. The Omani government now maintains two streams of scholarships: Group A (full scholarships) and Group B (partial scholarships). Group A awards are given to the country’s top students (reportedly those with a 95% average and above), whereas Group B recipients are required to have an 85% average or above. Group B awards are largely administered by Omani government officials, and mainly in collaboration with Oman’s embassies or consulates abroad. They provide for a monthly living stipend and tuition funding up to US$20,000. Both scholarship categories are focused on undergraduate studies (with graduate awards administered separately), and they are concentrated on fields of study that are tied to identified labour market requirements in Oman.

An agent’s perspective on the market

We recently had an extended conversation with Suad Alhalwachi from Education Zone, an education consulting firm based in the United Arab Emirates and serving students in Oman and other Gulf states. In the video excerpts that follow, Ms Alhalwachi offers her considerable insights on the latest developments in the Omani study abroad market. In our opening segment, she highlights in particular the large volume of high school graduates, relative to population, and the well-established drive to study abroad among Omani students. Ms Alhalwachi notes as well the strong need for language studies, suggesting a particular appeal for foundation or pathway programmes for Omani students. In terms of fields of study, Ms Alhalwachi notes that the Omani government plays a significant role in shaping student demand (via targeted scholarships tied to regular labour market studies) when planning for studies abroad. In our next interview segment, Ms Alhalwachi describes some of the important government initiatives, including expanded scholarship support for study abroad, in the wake of the Arab Spring in 2011. In our final video excerpt, Ms Alhalwachi notes some of the emerging shifts in destination preferences for outbound students. UNESCO data indicates that a large share of outbound students (roughly 55%) stay relatively close to home with study destinations in neighbouring Gulf states or elsewhere in the Middle East. In 2016, more than four in ten (41%) simply crossed the land border to the UAE to pursue their studies there. Even so, significant percentages do go further afield to institutions in the US or UK, with the balance widely dispersed among other European and Asian destinations. Ms Alhalwachi reinforces this historical preference for study within the students’ home region, but notes as well that expanding government programmes are an important factor in encouraging students to choose study destinations outside the Gulf area. For additional background, please see:

Most Recent

  • How is Indian student mobility changing in 2023? Read More
  • Move Over Google: Social media is also a search engine Read More
  • Why managing digital shock needs to be part of your student support plan Read More

Most Popular

  • Canada’s foreign enrolment grew by more than 30% in 2022 Read More
  • Measuring cost of study and cost of living across study destinations Read More
  • Recruiting in the Emirates: Big goals, world-class education, and new scholarships Read More

Because you found this article interesting

How is Indian student mobility changing in 2023? The shape of outbound mobility from India has changed over the course of 2023, with the UK and...
Read more
International enrolment in Canadian K-12 recovered to more than 80% of pre-pandemic levels in 2022/23 Canada’s K-12 public schools enrolled just over 33,000 foreign students in 2022/23. That total includes nearly 29,000 in...
Read more
Impact of UK’s dependant visa policy shows as nearly half of business schools miss targets In what appears to be an early signal of the impact of an important change to UK visa...
Read more
US: New coalition pushes for coordinated national strategy for international education Of the leading destinations for study abroad, only the US does not have an official international education strategy....
Read more
US international enrolment passed pre-pandemic levels for “near record high” in 2022/23 The number of international students in US higher education in 2022/23 exceeded 1 million and increased year-over-year by...
Read more
Spending by Indian outbound students could reach US$70 billion by 2025 Direct spending on study abroad by Indian students has been pegged at US$47 billion for 2022. That figure...
Read more
UK to ease travel requirements for school groups from France The Financial Times reported last week that, “The UK government is to sharply reduce post-Brexit border bureaucracy for...
Read more
Global agent survey finds a strong growth outlook for 2024; provides new insights on agency operations Findings from the latest instalment of ICEF’s Agent Voice survey indicate that agents are referring international students to...
Read more
What are you looking for?
Quick Links