Oman’s Ministry of Education on Sunday announced it has deployed a world-leading, wireless solution from Cisco Systems across more than 200 schools in the Sultanate. The deployment was achieved over a matter of five months, helping provide 100, 000 expected students and other users with wireless, high-speed access to the Internet and e-learning applications.
The Ministry’s wireless approach to networking removed the need for costly cabling and disruptive construction work. Wireless has also allowed students increased mobility within classrooms and has enhanced the schools’ ability to teach sciences and other laboratory-based curriculum.
Khalid Sulaiman Al-Siyabi, IT Director of Oman’s Ministry of Education, said: “This collaboration is helping us to achieve our ambitions and deliver on our promise to Oman’s youth. They are the future of our country and have a great responsibility to ensure its ongoing industrial and economical strength. Through collaboration with Cisco we have been able to rapidly establish the foundations on which to deliver training and education which will empower our children and allow them to realise their full potential.”
The Ministry of Education aims to incorporate e-Learning modules extensively throughout its courses. This is an effective method of teaching, which also allows students to progress through their studies at their own pace, and to repeat lessons if necessary. The Ministry will combine the proposition of e-Learning with Cisco’s Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) solutions to allow anywhere, anytime learning.
“IT, the Internet and education are so closely entwined that it is hard for schools to offer even a basic service to its pupils if it does not have some form of connectivity infrastructure in place. We are pleased to have been asked to provide this service which we hope will enrich the lives of many people in the Sultanate,” said Ghazi Atallah, General Manager, Cisco Systems Middle East.
The deployment took five months to complete, of which three months were required for testing. Over 20 engineers from Cisco, the Ministry of Education and Cisco’s Channel Partner Oman Computer Services, took part in the project. The Ministry is now in the process of adding Cisco’s wireless solutions to its own buildings providing easy access to central information stores from conference and meeting rooms.
