Thursday 23 / April / 2026
Muscat: As thousands of students of public schools in the Sultanate get set to begin their new academic year, they have received encouragement from the education minister amid a call for ensuring safe transport for them from the police.
Dr. Madiha bint Ahmed Al Shaibaniyah, Minister of Education, delivered a speech for the students on Saturday. Their new academic year 2018/2019 today.
“As we all start a new school year, I am pleased to congratulate you all on this occasion. I pray to Allah to bless this year and to grant us all the success and accomplishments of all ambitious goals in all levels of education, to build the generations of our country across various scientific, skill and value aspects,” she said.
With the 16,428 additional pupils, the number of students in public schools has gone up to 60,4767 this year. Of these, 30,4050 are boys and 30,0717 are girls. They will be attending 1,159 schools, an increase of 30 over last year’s number.
Alongside the minister’s speech, the Royal Oman Police has also urged drivers to abide by traffic rules while transporting schools students to ensure their safety.
Lt. Col. Abdullah bin Salim Al-Saadi, Traffic Director, led by the Muscat Governorate Police, has also called for ensuring the safety of school students in school buses and roads through the cooperation of all, especially drivers of other vehicles. “They have to be more vigilant at pick-up and drop-off points. The main purpose is to ensure the safety of students through the implementation of safety procedures and compliance with them, including parents, drivers and the community. Running over students is the most common type of accident that occurs among schools students, as they are very young,” he said.
Al Saadi added that such accidents occur due to neglect or carelessness on the part of drivers who sometimes fail to spot a child while reversing.
The director of Muscat traffic further said, “Transferring students is not easy because of their large numbers inside the bus, which distract the driver. The importance of supervisors is to guide the students to sit in their seats. Students should be calm and disciplined in school buses. They must be monitored to keep them safe from the dangers on the road. The driver must keep the bus clean to ensure a safe means of transport.”
He added that children are also vulnerable to danger when they are not properly seated when the bus is moving. Any sudden braking can result in the child being violently thrown in front. Moreover, some children are left unattended in the bus, which could lead to suffocation and then death, according to him.
He explained that the family is considered the first school of the child and must play its role by instilling the concept of traffic awareness in children. “Parents should ask their children to make sure that the bus is completely stopped before they are dropped off. Some students walk in front of the bus, which may endanger the lives of the students, as the bus driver is busy, as well as the size of students compared to the height of the bus, which hinders the driver’s vision.”
The head of the Muscat Traffic Department said that the Institute of Traffic Safety paid particular attention to the safety of school students. “The institute is working to visit school students during the academic year, which includes many activities and awareness activities. The aim of these visits is to instil traffic awareness among students to avoid accidents through the use of the best educational and training means, and information,” he pointed out.
