Muscat: Oman’s Higher Education Ministry is offering laptops, Blackberrys and other giveaways in a bid to get fresh graduates to provide their feedback on the quality and relevance of courses offered by higher educational institutions in the sultanate.
The freebies, which include scholarships at leading universities in Oman, will be raffled out in a lottery for fresh graduates participating in a novel Higher Education Graduate Survey launched by the Ministry on Saturday.
Higher Education Minister Dr. Rawya al Busaidi joined other senior colleagues at the launch, underlining the importance accorded by the government to the survey.
Through an electronic questionnaire, graduates have the opportunity to confidentially offer their criticisms with regard to a host of issues, focusing chiefly on the efficacy of various course offerings in securing for them rewarding job opportunities.
Participants can comment on any mismatch in acquired skill-sets and the requirements of the labour market.
They can also offer their evaluations with regard to the usefulness, or otherwise, of study programmes in advancing their social and professional status.
Feedback collected through the survey will be used by the Oman Accreditation Council (OAC), the key accreditation agency of the Higher Education Ministry, in seeking improvements to the curricula of higher learning institutions in the sultanate.
The graduate surveys will be held in Oman once every three years.
