Oman and British Council Plan AI Pilot in Secondary Schools

Oman's Ministry of Education has agreed with the British Council to test AI-supported learning tools in a selected group of Omani secondary schools. The pilot focuses on English speaking and writing and on training teachers to use AI safely in classrooms. The letter of intent was signed in London on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, during His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik's state visit to the United Kingdom, according to Oman's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

📌 Key Takeaways

• What was signed: A letter of intent between Oman's Ministry of Education and the British Council on the responsible use of AI in education, signed on 21 October 2026 in London.
• The concrete deliverable: A pilot project, jointly designed and run in a selected group of Omani secondary schools, as Oman Observer reported.
• Focus: Students' English speaking and writing, readiness for work, preparation for university programmes taught in English, and teachers' skills with AI-supported learning tools.
• Safeguards: The pilot is meant to follow principles of safe and responsible technology use and to protect students and their data.
• Still unknown: The number of schools, start date, specific AI tools and funding have not been disclosed.

🖊️ What Was Agreed in London

Two letters of intent were signed on the same day. One, between the UK Space Agency and the Government of Oman, covers space cooperation. The other covers AI in education. Oman's Minister of Education, Dr Madiha bint Ahmed Al Shaibani, signed the education letter, and Scott McDonald, Chief Executive of the British Council, signed for the UK side, the Foreign Ministry said.

The UK government had already flagged the education agreement in its statement on the visit. In that statement it said that the UK and Oman would sign agreements on the responsible use of AI in education, covering English language learning and teacher training.

The education letter covers three areas: responsible AI use in education, support for English language learning, and helping teachers use AI safely and effectively in classrooms, according to Oman Observer.

🏫 Inside the Planned Secondary School Pilot

Ministry statements describe the pilot this way, as reported by the Foreign Ministry and Oman Observer:

• Joint design: The Ministry and the British Council will design and run it together in a selected group of secondary schools.
• Student outcomes: Better English communication, especially speaking and writing, plus labour-market readiness and preparation for higher education taught in English.
• Teacher capacity: Training teachers to use AI-supported learning tools.
• Local fit: Activities will be aligned with Omani curricula and with the needs of each participating school.
• Evaluation: Results will be measured against indicators agreed by both sides, and those results will inform any decision on wider expansion.

Dr Al Shaibani described the agreement as "an important step towards strengthening educational cooperation". She said the evaluation is about "supporting evidence-based decision-making", and stressed "adhering to the principles of safe and responsible use of modern technologies and protecting students and data", according to the ministry's English summary, which it notes is an unofficial translation of an Arabic report.

🔍 What We Know, and What We Don't

This is a letter of intent, not a funded contract, and important details are still missing. GCC Business News confirmed that published reporting does not give the number of schools, the timeline, the specific tools or the funding.

🧩 How It Fits Oman's Classroom AI Push

This is not the Ministry's first move on AI in schools. In September 2025 it announced plans to deploy 4,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot licences across public schools, aimed at teachers, students and administrators. That was a broad productivity rollout. The British Council pilot is narrower: it targets one learning outcome (English proficiency) and includes a built-in evaluation step before any expansion.

The education letter was one of several technology-linked outcomes of the state visit. The UK government also announced plans for a large AI data centre in Salalah by UK-founded Yamna, with a first phase expected to exceed £1bn, and the return of the Chevening scholarship programme to Oman, with applications opening in August 2027.

The focus on English and on readiness for work fits the human capital goals in Oman Vision 2040 and what it means for tech businesses. Many of Oman's university programmes and private-sector roles still depend heavily on English.

⚖️ The Realistic View

Pilots with agreed indicators are the right way to bring AI into classrooms, but how much this one matters will depend on what happens next. These are the points to watch:

• Scale and selection: How many schools take part, and whether they include schools outside Muscat.
• Transparency of indicators: Whether the Ministry publishes the evaluation criteria and results.
• Data handling: Which tools are used, where student data is processed, and how the commitment to protecting students and data is put into practice.
• Teacher workload: Whether the training reduces teachers' workload or adds to it.

🇴🇲 Why this matters for Oman

English fluency is a practical gateway for young Omanis entering English-taught degrees and the private sector, so an AI tool that measurably improves speaking and writing could have real labour-market value. Just as important, the Ministry has tied any expansion to evidence from agreed indicators, not to the novelty of the technology. If the results are published, other Omani institutions will have a local benchmark for deciding which AI tools are worth adopting in schools.