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Muscat - In association with the Ministry of Education, HSBC Bank Oman S.A.O.G. and the British Council welcomed a specialist from the United Kingdom (UK), Marie Delaney, to deliver a series of Special Education Needs (SEN) training workshops to teachers across a number of the Sultanate's government schools in Batinah South and North, Dakhliya and Muscat. Delaney's visit aims to strengthen the skills of more than 120 teachers and supervisors, along with 30 local SEN educators, who have already participated in the SEN online training programmes that took place between December 2014 and January 2015.
The face-to-face training workshops provided additional SEN guidance in the areas of classroom behaviour as a mode of communication, education and mental health with an emphasis on Dyslexia and Autism Spectrum Disorders, in addition to the motivation of gifted students to drive high-level achievement. The first of these workshops took place in the training centres of Nizwa, Rustaq, Sohar and finally in Muscat, at Al Mahana School in Wilayat Baushar.
"As part of HSBC Bank Oman's corporate sustainability objectives, we remain committed to supporting educational initiatives like this that add real value to teachers and benefit a substantial number of intellectually challenged students," said Andrew Long, Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bank Oman. "Helping young people reach their potential has always been at the top of the Bank's community centred initiatives and by investing in educational partnerships such as this with the British Council, we can commit time, money and resources to make a long term positive contribution to the communities we serve."
Research into mental health as a barrier in education has been undertaken in recent years by the Directorate of Research & Studies at the Ministry of Health, and the Department of Behavioural Medicine at Sultan Qaboos University. The investigations undertaken to date note a severe lack of identification and treatment of mental health disorders, which is now recognized as a key challenge in the educational sector.
Paul Hilder, Country Director of the British Council in Oman, commented: "The British Council is honoured to have been involved in this initiative in collaboration with HSBC Bank Oman and the Ministry of Education. Over 5,000 students across the country are set to benefit from this Special Educational Needs training for teachers, and we look forward to supporting further work in this important area."
Teachers receiving the SEN training were carefully selected by the Ministry of Education to take part, with staff from the SEN department also invited, which represented the first of its kind online training programme to be held in Oman. Feedback from all the teachers involved was extremely positive.
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About HSBC in the MENA Region
HSBC is the largest and most widely represented international banking organisation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with a presence in 13 countries across the region. HSBC has operations in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Algeria and the Palestinian Autonomous Area. In Saudi Arabia, HSBC is a 40% shareholder of Saudi British Bank (SABB), and a 49% shareholder of HSBC Saudi Arabia for investment banking in the Kingdom. HSBC also maintains a representative office in Libya.
This presence, the widest reach of any bank in the region, comprises some 295 offices and around 12,000 employees. In the year ending 31st December 2013, HSBC in the MENA region made a profit before tax of US$1.7bn.
About HSBC in Oman
HSBC is the largest international bank operating in the Middle East, and Oman is an important market in the region for the bank. Oman has one of the most stable political, social and economic environments in the region, with a growing economy supported by a young population and significant investments in infrastructure.
Oman is also a key access hub to the fast-growing trade corridors connecting the MENA region with Asia - a major focus for growth for HSBC. Its economy is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4%1 forecast from 2011 to 2016.
About HSBC Holdings plc
HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from over 6,200 offices in over 74 countries and territories in Europe, Asia, North and Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa. With assets of US$2,729bn at 30 September 2014, HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations.
For more information, please contact:
Shaza Taher
Associate Media Relations Director
TRACCS Oman
Telephone: +968 24 649-099
Email: shaza.taher@traccs.net
© Press Release 2015
