Eighty years since the founding of Al-Saidiya School
The Ministry of Education in Oman launched commemorative stamps issued by Oman Post to celebrate the eighty-year anniversary of the establishment of the Saidiya School in Muscat. The Saidiya School is considered the first Omani school in the modern era. It was established in 1355 AH, corresponding to 1936 AD, and was opened by Sultan Said bin Taimur in 1940 AD and named after him.
The Ministry of Education held the inauguration ceremony under the patronage of His Excellency Mr. Saud bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Minister of State and Governor of Muscat, and in the presence of Her Excellency Dr. Madiha Al Shaibani, Minister of Education, and Mr. Nasr bin Badr Al Busaidi, Director General of Customer Experience at Oman Post.
The Saidiya School in Muscat was opened, establishing a new and more advanced stage in formal education. A dedicated school building was constructed, replacing most of the existing schools and educational institutions. The curriculum relied on books imported from Egypt, such as "Al-Nahw Al-Wadih" (Clear Grammar) and "Al-Qira'ah Al-Rashidah" (Righteous Reading), and from Palestine, such as "Al-Ulum" (Science), "Al-Tarikh" (History), and "Al-Jughrafah" (Geography). Later, some books were imported from Lebanon, such as "Silsilat Al-Muruj" (The Meadows Series). The school was divided into two stages: a two-year pre-primary stage and a six-year primary stage, after which students received a primary school certificate issued by the Department of Education at the time. The school also emphasized Islamic education, adopting a specific textbook for it: "Talqin Al-Sibyan Ma Yalzam Al-Insan" (Teaching Boys What is Necessary for Humans) by the scholar Nur Al-Din Abdullah bin Hamid Al-Salimi.
The directives of the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said - may God rest his soul - came to transform the school into a comprehensive educational museum that documents the history of education in the Sultanate, to inform present and future generations about the stages that the educational journey went through during successive eras, up to the blessed Renaissance era.
The museum was opened in January 2014 and consists of ten halls that include many educational achievements under the patronage of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq - may God protect and preserve him.
These stamps are from the series of commemorative stamps in denominations of 100, 300 and 500 baisa, printed using offset printing with dimensions of 4*4 cm.
