The National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), in its publication titled "Education in the Sultanate from illiteracy to graduate studies", highlighted the Sultanate's path and efforts towards providing comprehensive education, sustainable learning and scientific research tools that lead to a society with knowledge and competitive national capabilities, which are being considered as the most important targets of Oman's future vision (Oman 2040).

The contents of the first-of-its-kind publication have been formulated based on the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 2011), which provides a comprehensive framework for organizing education programs and qualification by applying uniform and internationally agreed definitions to facilitate comparisons of education systems across countries in accordance with the levels and fields of the education system.

According to (ISCED level 0), which refers to the early childhood programs that have an intentional education component, the total number of nurseries in the Sultanate increased in 2019 to 330 nurseries, compared to 295 in 2018, which is a significantly high number compared to 1989, when the number of nurseries in Oman was 16 private nurseries.

The total number of children of three years old and less in nurseries in Oman in the year 2019 reached 11, 472 students, up by 11.5% than the number in 2018, with 51.3% males and 48.7% females.

Statistics also shows that 7 out of 10 children in nurseries are Omanis, while the percentage of children of three years old and less in nurseries records 3.3% of the total population in the same category in 2019. The total number of staff of nurseries, including supervisors, nannies and administrative in-charges, reached 2,413, while 74% of them are Omanis.

As for the pre-school education (kindergarten), the number of schools that provide pre-school education service in the Sultanate for the academic year of 2019/2020 reached 1,626 schools distributed among 99 government schools with about 2,704 students. In addition, there were 822 private schools with about 67,120 students and 3 special education schools with 25 students and 46 international schools for foreign communities, which accommodate about 8,674 students, in addition to 656 other government schools with 15,759 students.

The data show that there is one teacher for every 16 students in pre-school education of public schools in Oman, compared to the students in pre-school education of private schools, which was one teacher for every 15 students. The classroom strength of pre-school education for the academic year 2019/2020 has decreased to reach about 23 students in each classroom, compared to 24 students for each classroom in the previous academic year.

According to ISCED level 1 classification, which is related to grades 1-4, the number of schools providing education service for this stage in the academic year of 2019/2020 in the Sultanate reached 574 schools, accommodating 241,880 students, compared to 16 schools with 3,328 students in 1970 / 1971.

In addition to the number of students in the Sultanate's public schools, there are 32,472 students in private schools, 149 students in special education schools, 23,372 students in international schools, and 172 students in other government schools.

The gross enrollment rate for first grade was 100.7%, recording 100.5%, for grades 1-4, while the adjusted rate of enrollment in the first grade was 96.6%, and about 98.5% for grades 1-4.

The average class strength for grades 1-4 in private schools reached 17 students per class, while it reached 28 students per classroom in public schools.

In ISCED level 2 classification, which is related to grades 5-10, the number of schools providing education service for this stage in the academic year of (2019/2020) reached 852 public schools, while the number of students in the Sultanate's schools from grade 5-10 reached 358,353 students, recording 42 % of the total number of students in the Sultanate.

The gross enrollment rate in schools of grades 5-10 was 102.3%, while the net enrollment rate was 89.9%, and the adjusted rate of enrollment was 96.4%.

In ISCED level 3 classification, which is related to school of grades 11-12, the number of students in this stage in the academic year of 2019-2020, reached 92,918, recording 11% of the total number of students of the Sultanate, while the percentage of students who passed the General Education Diploma from the total number of students who attended the examination in the academic year 2018/2019 was about 83.5%.

The gross enrollment rate into schools of grades 11-12 reached 95.2% for males, 94.2% for females, while the net enrollment rate for males was 77.4%, and females was 78.4%. The adjusted net enrollment rate was 84.1% for males and 86.7% for females.

In ISCED level 4 classification, which is related to vocational and short courses, the number of students studying these programs in vocational colleges and in the Vocational College for Marine Sciences at Al-Khabourah for the academic year 2019/2020 reached 1,307 students. Among them 1,024 were males and 283 were females. The maintenance and repair of refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment field was the most studied specialization, with the percentage of students enrolled in it reaching 16.7 % of the total number of student in the same college.

In ISCED level 5 classification, which is related to short-cycle tertiary education with diploma programs, the total number of students admitted into these programs in the academic year 2018/2019 across the Sultanate reached 3,912 students, down by 3.1% from the previous academic year. Six out of 10 of those admitted to short-term diploma programs were enrolled in private universities and colleges for the academic year of 2018/2019.

The number of students enrolled in short-term diploma programs and in the vocational programs inside the Sultanate and abroad for the academic year, 2018/2019 reached 14,063 students compared to 16,117 students in the previous academic year. Diploma qualifications recorded the highest percentage of admitted students, at 62.1%; followed by advanced/specialized diplomas by 20.8%. More than half of the students of these programs, whether in the Sultanate's private universities and colleges or in abroad universities and colleges, are enrolled in the Business administration and commerce studies. About 55% of the students graduated from public universities and colleges in short-term and vocational diploma programs are in engineering and related technology.

In ISCED level 6 classification for the (bachelor's or equivalent level), the number of admitted students in and out of the Sultanate at this level in the academic year 2018/2019, reached to 30,035 students, while the enrolled number reached 105,801 students, and the graduated were 17,491 students.

In ISCED level 7 classification for master's level or equivalent, which includes a bachelor's degree in medicine, the number of the admitted students in and out of the Sultanate at this level in the academic year 2018/2019 reached 2,280 students, while the number enrolled reached 6,100 students and those graduated reached 2,039 students.

As for the ISCED level 8 classification for doctoral or equivalent level, the number of students admitted in the Sultanate and abroad at this level in the academic year 2018/2019 was about 375 students, while the number enrolled reached 1,502 students and those graduated reached 281.