United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

As MOE Is having around 1050 schools, 42,000 teachers and 550,000 students spread all over the country in 11 educational zones which are geographically away from each other, there are many difficulties encountered in exchanging knowledge, thoughts, experiences and skills. The communication between the main elements in the educational sector indicated above plus parents is weak and limited. Not only that but, administrative and educative processes are paper based with annoying routine that consumes time, efforts and money. This unproductive work flow has affected many aspects by which the procedures in getting an MOE transaction done is branded with complicated steps.

Huge information is daily communicated throughout massive operations without being correctly traced or archived. No central integrated data by which decisions and implementation of plan, program and projects is derived by accurate and timely information. Management are fare a way from observing their people working environment which lead to none controlling of human and financial resources.

Apparently, teaching is still practiced in a traditional way, the technological skills are ignored; the professional improvements are oriented towards traditional education and not framed with creative technological education.

Students are used to get their educational requirement in schools and the level in which they approach them via the internet is restricted in the educational forum with some basic services like announcement.

Schools can not interact with each other online as the administrative program provided for them 10 years ago does not support this. There is not any online connectivity between the ministry and these schools. Society is also not well- penetrated in the goals of education and parents usually obtain their services done physically struggling the time, place, efforts and money.

The consequences of the main situation indicated previously are mainly attributed to the technology gap which has obviously affected the educational sector's performance in a negative manner. Denying modern technological tools in producing and demonstrating impacted communication between the main educational elements has directed the general picture of education to be commonly enclosed with infertile outcomes.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
Having a web based application with central database is the perfect solution seen to advocate and equip the educational sector with the required technological tools that lead to the right and distinct strategic thinking of decisions making with proper implementation of the plan executed to develop the whole sector. Therefore, it has become an indispensable requirement to launch an electronic educational portal in order to fulfill these needs and to validate a digital educational society that has a shared technological vision painted with elevated quality and brushed up with advanced electronic knowledge. This portal is an electronic communication system that links all educational components using several online programs. It also facilitates the educational and administrative processes to be presented in an effective and attractive shape. This online portal shortage the distance and gets transactions completed in a speed and simplified manner as it eliminates the unneeded procedures. Providing extended and flexible educational environment for innovated teaching and learning is also aimed to be achieved through distance learning, virtual classrooms and self learning skills practiced. The efficiency of educational planning and evaluation methodologies are considered to be improved using easy work flow of operational management efforts. So far, the impact of having such provoking technological portal implemented in two educational zones with total of 304 schools connected and around 112,807 students and 6,855 teachers using the portal, the services furnished with satisfactory standards allowing daily online interaction to be experienced. Having a dedicated specialist team to constantly solving problems raised by teachers, students, parents and employees when using the portal is the strategy adapted to measure the achievements in a quantitative and qualitative manner. The feedback received from the target which benefited from the atomized provided services has given a clear picture of the weakness and strengthens in the portal by which the improvements' road is adjusted accordingly. Although there were some challenges encountered frequently when launching the portal, it was quite obvious from the achievements implemented in this stage the devotion and ambition of the coordinated disciplined efforts in the educational sector to ensure the success of this project.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The thoughtful brain child of this project was driven by Directorate General of Information Technology in MOE. The supervisor team of the schooling administration program (desktop application) which was launched by the MOE in 1994, thought of how to have all schools linked online with shared educational, administrative and financial database and services so as to overcome the difficulties confronted when missing such unique technological online programs. The implementation of this project is held by a centralized dedicated educational team which has dealt in such programs at their schools and has underpinning experience in the educational environment. This helps understanding schools' requirements; therefore updating and improving the system in view of that. Additional support is by having another team in each educational directorate to coordinate the efforts and observing the implementation climate and ensure moving in the right direction by getting on time solutions for any problems occurred. A representative also is placed in each school to ensure the proper usage of the system and to train and lead teachers implementing the system effectively and efficiently. This project is now implemented in two educational zones and hopefully will be expanded this year in another two. The stakeholders of this project are teachers, students, parents, employees, visitors and educational zones. These components are interacting with each other as they implementing the system benefiting therefore from the services and systems provided in order to manage their requirements separately and to have the processes of whatever needed to attain facilitated.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
Scheming the idea of having an electronic portal with concrete systems to be the best introduced initiative for the problems and having done the micro and macro environment analysis of the current situation, executed strategic planning have been drawn to implement this initiative in successful way. This is to concentrate on the existed core competencies avoiding therefore the weakness from having any negative influence till get them strengthened to the required standards. Strategies and objectives: Based on the international benchmark in adapting ICT in education, the following strategies and objectives have been design so as to move in the right direction of having powerful infrastructure that lead the whole educational sector to having high quality of performance and outstanding outcomes: • Having a national strategy for educational technology • Building centre of excellence to train teachers producing interactive and attractive e-contents. • Providing computer for each teacher and student • Building schools of the future • Free Internet via ADSL or sat. • Conducting awareness campaign The objectives of these strategies are: • Building shared educational data base with accurate information • Ensuring the acceptable infrastructure • Acknowledging email as a dependable administrative practice. • Providing training for all teachers • Educational society to be well-acquainted with the projects • Enhancing the capabilities of teachers in ICT to use it in producing e-content. Looking previously to the drawn strategies in which the portal will be launched, the general plan of the portal project has been design to ensure stable improvements and remarkable results; Phase one 2006 – 2008 • Automating the schools business and have all the educational operation and services related to students, teachers and parents transferred from the traditional way to electronic using the School Management System (SMS) • Adapting the portal in two educational zones out of eleven. • Preparing and completing the data of the other educational zones for the portal system implementation. Phase two 2009 – 2013 • Adapting the portal in the other educational zones gradually. • Atomizing the administrative work related to the employees. • Building e-content • Launch Learning Management System (LMS) • Launch the Document Archives System (DMS) Phase three 2014 – 2016 • Improve the e-financial system in the portal. • Integrate with Oman financial and administrative systems. • Integrate with other governments unities. These all are established by the dedicated team of the portal projects and the company which is providing the system.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The portal development has gone through several tasks to ensure launching it with latest updated version that fits the gap needed to be matched. After doing the analysis and getting the design completed, it came the point where the first development is done by the company itself. Then, the deployment and final tuning steps based on the project test. Lastly, is the training part which was mainly handled by a special educational team and directed towards many teachers in the two zones implemented the projects to filter the portal before the formal launch. These teachers have dealt with the administrative program and have valid experiences in such area. They are going to be also a supervisor of the project in their schools to train other teachers through workshops. The keystone in the development part is having a centralized conscientious team located at MOE and other a local team derived located in each educational zone, a supervisor in each schools. Thus, all these people are communicated daily via the email to interact with each other and have their notices placed to the company provided the system and then get them closed. There is no way by which mistakes and defects in the portal system can be ignored, postponed or not dealt. It has been now a year and half since the implementation of this portal in two educational zones and development is in a continuous manner and based in the new requirements in educational sector. The efforts now concentrated in adding new screens to the system that were not introduced previously. In addition, the portal will be launched in other educational zone within one month and the preparation to adapt this project has been recently completed and the training part and the awareness campaign for teachers, students and parents will be done soon. Generally speaking, the implementation plan is productive and well-design to ensure the successful environment for using this technological portal.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
The main obstacles are: • Infrastructure The Internet coverage in all educational zone is not complete. Therefore, MOE is aggressively working with Information Technology Authority to provide the internet via the Sat for those areas do not have the internet. • Human resources As MOE implementing new technology, capacity building in ICT skills for all MOE is a top priority There is a project held by MOE to provide teachers and employees different courses in ICDL and IC3. Schools also will be provided with educational technology specialist. • E-curriculum So far the achievements in producing interactive and attractive e-content do not reach the required level. This is attributed to the lack of skillful teachers with English language. Therefore, MOE is building a Centre of excellence oriented towards improving teachers' skills in e-content. • Society and culture The MOE found it necessary to handle productive awareness campaign to elevate parents' knowledge in using the portal in effective way. Many awareness programmes for the parents were organized across the country . • Financial resources As this is a national project the concern government offices contributed to the heavy cost e.g. ITA • Applications solutions (creativity) Atomizing huge administrative and educational processes is not an easy job and requires proper analysis so cut the un needed producers and to provide the electronic services in attractive and effective shape ensuring therefore a smooth work flow in all operations between the educational sector components. Phase two is really challenging as it has a direct relation with employees working environment and which MOE is doing its best to get done accurately.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
There is no way such project can signed off without having the effective collaboration of the financial, technical and human resources costs. This is to say having associated and mobilized resources to ensure entire elements of the doing well environment. • Financial resources Finance is always the main concern for any project needed to be funded properly. This is to ensure a successful implementation and to see a continuous progress. There is a co-operation between MOE and relative ministries to support this project and therefore the fund is provided accordingly. • Technical resources Technical support is granted by the company provided the project itself. There is also additional support provided by people from the General Directorate of Information Technology as well as Information and Technology Authority. • Human resources As this portal is mainly oriented towards the educational sector, it was thoughtful having talented teachers with the required background to handle the project. The idea is working well and these teachers demonstrated diligent productive efforts as they can cope with any updates given. The mobilization of these resources was directed towards having healthy working environment that facilitate smoothly the work flow between all these elements and having them well-integrated.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
Even though the influences of the surrounded conditions of this project are seen to be needed more supportive efforts so as to speed up the operation and whole implementation, it is acknowledged this project has sustainable competitive advantages by which it will remain productive in the long term. It is not only designed from a technological thinking, it has a positive affect on all components' behaviors leading them to learning organization which consequently have the education well- improved. The global climate in Oman has recently electronically governed by which technology has become an essential tool to be used in many aspects. Omani people have realized this and they started getting confidently and culturally involved in networking each other using technological products. The government has financed many technological projects and the MOE portal is one of them. This portal is considered to be a unique initiative and there is no internal replication of it. However, there are some educational portals at the international level but they are unlike each other as the concentrated programs and services vary based on their requirements. It can be easy having such portal but it will never and ever succeed unless having a dedicated hard-working team with unlimited devotion. Therefore, it is worth saying MOE portal is a distinctive project that has added value for the educational society.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
A dream come true MOE is very proud of this system and in particular having our educational society moved gradually from the traditional working ways to well-matched electronic one with these enormous numbers of teachers, students, parents and employees adopting to the new system very smoothly. Aliening with the national strategy of digital society, MOE now is moving forward with stable and striving steps to shared vision of highly education quality that make students able to cope with the latest technological events. This portal has provided many advantages for the components of the educational sector. Students have now many electronic services and can follow up their learning achievements, attend virtual classes and exchange knowledge through the portal as a means of online interaction supporting therefore self-study. They can have their learning materials whenever and wherever they are. Teachers can also contact students through e-learning which is one type of distance learning using virtual classrooms. They can benefit from the electronic services authorized from them to trace and enhance students' performance with the observation of their parents. Teachers have a chatting, forums and emails to communicate with each other in easy and effective way. Parents can do many services without the going to schools. They can just log in the portal and have many electronic services for them saving therefore time, efforts and money. They even can trace students' performance through the Short Message Services (SMS) and the Interactive Voice Response (IVR). The lessons learned from this experience are: • Having all educational sector acquainted with the driven shared vision of the project is vital to unify the efforts. • Providing training for the target so as to get them technologically prepared and to reduce the resistance of a particular segment. • Top management to be well-supported for the project and advocate therefore their decision making in this area. • Conducting an aggressive awareness campaign for parents to ensure reaching the acceptable understanding of dealing with new technology. • Specifying a dedicated team to handle the system, solve problems encountered during the implementation and to get the feedback from the target in a constant manner. • Dealing with target in an effective way to convince them using the services provided through the portal. • Negotiating with other companies provided assortment of technological products. • Interacting with other people from different country holding the same ideas in the same sector. • The dynamic environment in thinking how to atomizing any administrative service and provided it in attractive shape. • The limitation cost of many paper based projects. • The importance of having all educational components linked online.


Institution Name:		Ministry of education
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		Khalid Al-Siyabi
Title:		Director General of Information Technology
Telephone/ Fax:		+968 24773232
Institution's / Project's Website:		+968 24778838
E-mail:		khalid@moe.om
Address:		Box: 3
Postal Code:		100
City:		Muscat
State/Province:		Muscat
Country:		Oman

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information