Planning

Numerous issues came up in relation to the planning phase, chiefly focusing on factors influencing the selection of models and systems. See Table 7.3 for a summary of these findings.

Western Consultants/ Experts

Participants were divided into three camps with regard to the role of Western consultants and/or experts in the planning, for example the choice of the Western model, system or programme.

Acknowledging the Influence of Experts on the Type of Models

The first camp, from Group C, simply acknowledged the fact that Western consultants or experts were indeed involved in the selection of specific models. P11 accredited their general contribution stating, “benefiting from foreign expertise” was in all processes of “planning, execution and evaluation” in health HE. Moreover, P16 pointed out to the important part NZ experts played in the adoption of a NZ model for CAS. P08 also recognised the role of Australian consultants in the establishment of OAAA stating, “I think at the beginning, most of the consultants they invited were Australian and I think that the Australian model is more relevant to Omani context because… in Oman you have different provinces, different areas, remote areas and so forth” although she then confessed, “The justification is not clear!”. It must be noted here that this group did not consist of any of the top decision makers in the sample.

Criticising the Role of Foreign Experts

The second camp, mainly from Group B, was a bit sceptical about the impact of foreign/Western experts. The strongest criticism to experts came from P05. Although he believed that the consultants “hired” by the government had a big role in the selection process, he had suspicions about their real contribution to the development of Omani HE. He openly accused them of “shopping around all over the place” with a “specific template” that they had “developed through other consultation in other countries”, which was “their selling point”. P05 revealed, “They are in advantage”, as “they already have some data” and “can tell you to some degree that they know more than you, and actually they don’t”. He urged, “if you want to get information from this consultant, you have to raise the bar. You have to challenge him and to know yourself what do you want to do”, concluding with a very strong allegation that “we don’t know” what we want to do. Suggesting the existence of a “foreign consultant complex”, he insisted that “till date we have not benefited from those consultants that come here … we see them in front of us every day but we have not been able to cross that barrier that OK we have enough from you. We have some people to depend on”.

P15 was slightly less critical, but he also believed that foreign consultants were not necessarily equivalent to ‘quality’. He stated that “these houses of expertise are foreign and so they will bring foreign models. We know that when we hire a house of expertise, we tell them what we want and they do as you ask. In the end, you pay money and they receive money. It is no longer an issue of quality”. Drawing a comparison between Oman now and some decades ago, P15 subscribed to the fact that “perhaps in the 70s and 80s we needed to bring houses of expertise”, but he felt that “now we are experts and our expertise as Omanis is better in our environment and context”.

Experts Have Limited Role: Guided by Government

The third camp consisted of people from Group A and B - those with high and medium decision-making authority in education and HE. They asserted that experts and consultants did not work without guidance and supervision. For example, P07 argued, “it’s no longer a matter of them [experts] bringing a product … we agree with any company for example … helps us with the thing for which we are lacking facilities or experts … but one of the conditions is that you train Omanis so they take the place once they [experts] leave. This is a general policy with us”. P02 did not assert his opinion as being the general policy or rule in the education field like P07 did, but spoke hypothetically of what should be exercised. “Western and International experts … I appreciate their efforts and I benefit from their experiences a lot but it must not be on the expense of capacity building inside any country”. P10 also described the role of experts as that of: a. assessing goals and plans and b. translating realistic goals/plans into actions. He clarified that the Supreme Council for Planning was the body that sets goals and objectives for Oman, while the role of consultants would be limited to evaluating those plans whether achievable or not and then transforming the realistic ones into actions. He pointed out that “to leave things to the consultants is difficult; they are not from the local environment and do not particularly know the obstacles or challenges faced by these plans”.

Economic Development Plans: Alignment with the Job Market

It was mainly Group A respondents who underscored national economic development schemes in the planning and selection of Western methods.

To start with, P13 indicated that the needs of the job market and development projects, which outlined the programmes and hence specialisations to be offered in HE, determine

the Western models and expertise to be imported. P07 also asserted, “Always, as an education system, we are affected by national economic strategies”. To him, “education is a cause and effect of social change, so it is a cause of economic change and an effect of economic change … it is therefore a common relationship … in school education, you are usually supposed to focus on general skills but when you go to HE, you are supposed to concentrate on specialisation skills that lead you to job market”. Sharing the same opinion, P02 pointed out alignment with job market as one of the most important factors. “It is a must on the government. This is not a choice. Otherwise there will be no such thing as economic development and then no social development. So, I think caring about the welfare of the individuals start with aligning the HE with the job market” P02 stated.

These views somewhat reflected a ‘welfare’ mentality prevalent in the vision of Omani administration to the extent of it being almost adopted as a ‘HE philosophy’ in Oman.

Reputation of the Foreign/ Western Model or Experience

Another point that Group A respondents stressed in the planning stage was the “reputation” of the foreign country or institution from which to import systems, models, programmes and even experts. This reputation was based on the following two criteria:

Great Economic and Educational Development

P06 stated that “looking at and visiting countries that have done wonders for their economies” was what Omani officials did when considering a model. However, she explained that these “countries of repute” did not necessarily have to be located in the West because other Eastern countries such as Japan and Korea were competing with the West in this regard. Like P06, P10 elaborated that not only the West, but also Asian countries such as China, Singapore, Japan and Korea have become great examples in their development of education and societies adding that there were now Omani students studying in these countries and learning their models, with the aim of later applying them in Oman.

Official International Reports and Records

Another criterion determining the reputation of foreign countries was the reports produced by international influential organisations, for instance, P10 pointed out that the World Bank and UNESCO reports impacted their decision to import a certain model. In

addition to these reports, P06 stressed that “quality and a proven track record” was also an important criterion, maintaining that not any new institution, but one which was accredited and had very reputable programmes and degrees was sought. Similarly, P07 also emphasised the vital role international reports played in decision-making, especially in the selection of international expertise and added that performance tests such as TIMSS and PIRLS helped open officials’ eyes towards countries such as Finland, Korea, Japan and Singapore. Nevertheless, P07 explained that in spite of the fascination with international reports and records, officials in Oman were more inclined to opt for the USA and the UK models because of the language element, as “it is easy to bring things in English than to bring them in Chinese or Japanese”.

Western-Educated Omanis

Omanis educated in the West, who appeared previously as one rationale behind the policy of importing Western systems and concepts, were also listed as a factor in the selection of models by some participants, predominantly from Group A. P06 argued that Omanis who went abroad to study, came back with various concepts to be implemented in Omani HE. This also recurred in the interview with P07, who underlined the role of this influential group and debated, “When people study in Europe and the USA and when they bring back models from the West, automatically it will be easy when you bring the culture. Why did they give you free scholarships in the past? Because you will be educated there”. He added, “This is the way… bring education system. That means you’ll be aware of that country... You will love it or you will respect it, but at least you understand it [sic]”, explaining “somehow this mindset will be easy later on, especially with globalisation and commerce”. P10 further supported this opinion that ‘Western- educated students’ played an important role in the selection process of experiences.

Foreign Affairs and Personal Connections

Two participants also listed foreign connection as one game player in the planning process. P10 explained that choosing a specific model was done “mostly on personal connections” while P07 mentioned the role “foreign affairs”, represented in economic and political factors, sometimes played in the type of partnership agreements made between Oman and other countries, which again reflected the historical side of the relationship and policy.

Sensible and Feasible Option

The final decision on a model came down to the fact that it was a practical and feasible option in terms of cost and cultural appropriateness. P02 insisted that rather than being “a perfect option”, importing a solution from anywhere in the world was conditioned by being “sensible” financially and culturally. The other respondent, P13, pointed out that for example when a HEI was considering implementing a new programme, which could be imported and adopted from foreign HEIs, it would be required to submit a feasibility study before permission would be granted by the government.

Table 7. 3 Summary of Results: Planning - Factors Influencing Selection of Western Models

Factors Influencing the Selection of Western Models, Systems and Experts 1 Western Consultants/ Experts

2 Economic Development Plans: Alignment with the Job Market 3 Reputation of the Foreign/Western Model or Experience 4 Western-Educated Omanis

5 Foreign Affairs and Personal Connections 6 Sensibility and Feasibility of Model