Muscat – Following the success of a pilot educational project – Child Friendly Education (CFE) – conducted in 29 schools in five governorates, a nationwide rollout of the programme was announced at a special event in W Hotel Muscat on Sunday.

The pilot project was conducted in South Batinah, Muscat, Musandam, Dakhliyah and Dhofar.

Students from the schools where the pilot project was conducted showcased their acting and musical talents and held a round-table discussion on Children’s Parliament during the announcement.

An initiative of the Ministry of Education (MoE) and Unicef, the CFE model will now be introduced in all government schools – Grades 1 to 12 – across Oman. H H Sayyida Hujaija al Said, chairperson of board of directors of Association for Children with Disabilities, described CFE as a “very important step” towards improving the quality of education in Oman and “supporting all children to thrive”.

“CFE is a model that promotes the quality of education to enable all children to achieve their full potential. It asserts that all children have a right to education, regardless of gender, ethnicity, race, disability or wealth,” H H Sayyida Hujaija said.

The model of CFE is based on six core principles: child-centredness, participation, inclusiveness, protection, equity and equality, and resilience and sustainability.

On the occasion, H E Abdullah bin Khamis Busaidi, Undersecretary in MoE, said, “The achievements of the education sector in the past 50 years in Oman have been spectacular. The education system has gained close to universal enrolment and has excellent facilities, good quality services, and sustained high levels of investment.

“The nationwide rollout of the CFE model is the logical next step as we strive for excellence in education, improve learning outcomes, and prepare our young people to contribute fully to our nation’s continued prosperity and development and achieving Oman Vision 2040.”

As part of the project, Unicef experts supported MoE develop a manual for schools to implement CFE. Unicef also supported MoE develop structures at all levels of the education system to implement and monitor the guidelines, and a training programme for teachers.

Also at the announcement, Liibaan Dahir, Unicef Oman’s social policy manager, said, “Unicef is proud of the technical expertise we have been able to bring to bear in support of CFE in Oman.”

Dahir added that the nationwide rollout of CFE will catalyse progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 to ensure quality education for everyone in the country.