PROTECTIONISM VS TRANSPARENCY AS A QUALITY ISSUE IN OMANI HIGHER EDUCATION
By: Ali Fayadh
INTRODUCTION & ABSTRACT
Program Director ELS-Oman,Ex Secretary Oman Quality Network Muscat, Oman. This work attempts to answer the following questions: What measures do quality monitoring
organizations take to ensure transparency in Omani Higher Education (HE)? Are these measures
adequate or not? What are the types of protectionary acts exercised by some Higher Education
Institutions (HEIs)? How to avoid protectionism?
Many HEIs practice protectionism in different disguises, and that some HE quality policies lie
behind HEIs' inclination to protectionism.
This work is confined to protectionism and transparency in the private HE sector. Reference to
public HEIs is made only to enlighten the issue under consideration.
It will not attribute protectionary acts mentioned in this work to HEIs by name; however,
figuring them out remains a possibility outside the reach of this work. Issues discussed are
directly/indirectly associated with Quality Audit Manual (Oman Accreditation Council (OAC),
(2008).
The significance of this endeavour lies in the fact that it explores the aspects of a sensitive issue; thus, it will assist HEIs to ride the right way, and to diagnose areas where Ministry of HE and OAC may intervene. And it invites researchers to deal with this issue more openly in the future, utilizing other research methodologies. It will also attempt to draw a tentative “Terms of Reference” which may be elaborated into “Guidelines on how to avoid Protectionism in HE Quality” in the future.