Oman's first private university, to be built in Nizwa, the Sultanate's old capital, will start functioning in 2004, Omani cabinet minister, Ahmed Rawahi, was quoted as saying by the Gulf News daily Sunday.
He said that the estimated cost of the project is fifteen million dollars, adding that tenders will be issued by the end of this year.
The state-run Sultan Qaboos University, which was set up in 1985, is the only university in Oman, thus unable to meet the growing demand for higher education.
The government, committed to privatization, is offering all possible help to the private sector to join hands in spreading education to all parts of the country, said Rawahi.
The proposed university in Nizwa, said Rawahi, will include colleges for law, engineering, arts, economics and commerce, and medicine, in addition to one center for energy and environment and another for marine science and water resources.
He said the university, which would accommodate 15,000 students, would go a long way to reducing the burden of Omani parents who send their wards abroad for higher education, according to the daily -- Albawaba.com
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