Microsoft signs MOU to bring Partners in Learning initiative to Sultanate of Oman

The five-year agreement will encourage school teachers, staff and students to use ICT to improve the learning process, and will support teachers in raising their level of ICT awareness. The agreement includes programs to help provide cost effective software and provide learning resources for communities throughout Oman.

His Excellency Mustafa bin Abdullatif, undersecretary of Administration & Finance said: 'This agreement is a very important step forward for education in Oman. This program will ensure that our students receive ICT teaching of the highest standard, and that our teachers are prepared and supported to educate our young people in the IT skills they need for employment in the modern workplace.'

The memorandum of understanding will introduce a number of different initiatives to benefit schools and teachers. Microsoft will provide schools in the Sultanate with ICT training materials for students and teachers from the Microsoft IT Academy program, as well as working with the Ministry's curriculum development team to integrate ICT into the school's learning curriculum. Teachers will be supported through the Innovative Teachers Network (ITN) an online resource that provides teachers with best practices, course content and teaching tools. ITN will also provide Omani teachers with an online forum to discuss ICT education.

Microsoft will also work with the Ministry on supporting innovative educational projects, such as the Resource Based Active Learning Project, which uses small computer networks in classrooms to leverage ICT in teaching. Microsoft will provide examples of the latest technology to be used in the project.

The memorandum of understanding includes provisions to help schools with the cost of introducing technology to classrooms through a special Partners in Learning School Agreement, which offers discounted Microsoft Office software to schools, and a Fresh Start program that provides free Windows operating systems to Pentium II or older PCs that are donated to schools. To provide technical support for IT projects in schools, Microsoft and the Ministry will work to identify facilities such as regional Directorates, where support centers can be established. Microsoft will provide training and assistance to students to act as help desk staff.

Partners in Learning will also provide ICT education for the wider community with the establishment of Community Technology Learning Centers (CTLCs) in Oman. Microsoft will work with existing learning centers, and will establish new centers that will offer IT and business training to local communities, especially women and small businesses to empower them with skills to realize their full potential. The CTLCs will also act as hubs to give local communities access to e-government services.

Abdullatif Almulla, General Manager of Microsoft South Gulf commented: 'Microsoft believes that the private sector has an important role to play in helping young people to develop to their full potential. We are very pleased to be able to partner with the Ministry of Education and Youth to bring the benefits of ICT to students in Oman, and to provide them with vital skills for the future development of the Sultanate.'

Microsoft's Partners in Learning initiative, launched globally in September 2003, recognizes the educational value of technology in schools. Global in scope and local in implementation, this initiative provides a significant investment of software and more than $253 million in cash grants worldwide over the next five years to deliver ICT skills training and technical support to the IT environment at school level. Partners in Learning also includes significantly lower prices for Microsoft's core educational desktop software for students and teachers. Partners in Learning is implemented in conjunction with government agencies, local businesses and non-government organizations in each country, as appropriate, to ensure that the program meets the needs of local communities.

'Partners in Learning is an important program that is central to Microsoft's vision of helping individuals, businesses and institutions to make the best use of technology in achieving their goals. We have already introduced the program in Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon and Yemen, and I am very happy that we are now able to bring the same benefits to Oman,' said Amna Al Nakhi, Academic Programs Manager, Microsoft South Gulf.