Students hit by continuing US boycott of education fair

Muscat: Oman's annual Gulf Higher Education Exhibition (GHEDEX) has grown steadily over the last nine years and this year too a larger number of higher education institutes are taking part.

However, American universities continue to abstain from the annual event ever since the 9/11 terror attacks.

The exhibition will be held in Muscat from April 7 to 9 and in Salalah on April 12 and 13.

The US varsities, however, remain one of preferred destinations for pupils seeking higher education abroad from Oman.

Hundreds of students every year appear for both Standardised Aptitude Test (SAT) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) in Oman as these two tests are mandatory for seeking admission in the US. After appearing in these tests, students in Oman receive both snail and e-mails from American varsities, inviting them to enroll. But they refrain from physically coming here and taking part in the exhibition.

Canadian presence

"We have been approaching American universities but there has been no response," Najeeb Al Marhoon, a spokesperson for OITE told Gulf News. However, a number of universities and institutes from Canada are taking part.

"We are expecting at least five to six Canadian institutes coming to enroll students from Oman during the three-day exhibition," Sadiq Ahmad Khan, Director Sales & Marketing of OITE, told Gulf News.

Khan also said that GHEDEX was Arabia's First and only UFI Approved Higher Education Event thus making it a high quality event.

"We have stringent quality control," stressed Khan.

He said GHEDEX assures the highest quality mark, as only Ministry of Higher Education approved universities and colleges participate at this event.

Khan confirmed that Oman was a "big market" for higher education institutes, especially from abroad, due to paucity of supply against the demand in the country.

"This exhibition is a gateway offering the best of global higher education options for nationals and expatriates in Oman," he believes.

He also stressed that the event was a platform to enhance higher education standards in Oman. "Last year we had 14,500 visitors to the exhibition in which 155 colleges and universities took part," the OITE senior official revealed.

Facilities: Demand-supply gap

- Every year more than 40,000 Omani pupils clear secondary school examination and only about 12,000 are accommodated in various higher education studies, including around 2,500 at the only government-run Sultan Qaboos University.

- More than 5,000 students from Oman got registered with foreign university last year after visiting the three-day exhibition at the Oman International Exhibition Centre

- Major participation in the exhibition is from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Cyprus, Germany, India, Malaysia, Netherlands, Qatar, Sultanate of Oman, UAE and the United Kingdom.