Ministry of Education’s media skills programme to end today

The three-day training programme for the directors of the directorates general in the Ministry of Education’s general diwan is coming to an end on Thursday under the auspices of H E Dr Madiha bint Ahmed al Shaibaniya, Minister of Education.

‘The Official Spokesman and Skills of Dealing with the Media’ training programme was organised by the Directorate-general of Administrative Affairs, Department of Training and Rehabilitation in the Minister of Education, as a practical simulation in managing permits, conferences, television, radio, and press interviews.

The programme included a number of topics, including the one on how to deal with digital media, the role of digital media in shaping the future, importance of a spokesperson in the industry, during crises, and for the institution’s relationship with the media.

It touched on the skills of dealing with the media of different types by reviewing the Omani experience, local laws and comparing them with the international media, and delving into the content of the interviews with a focus on the pitfalls, how to deal with them, and the agenda struggle: The agenda of the spokesperson versus the agenda of the journalist and broadcaster.

The training programme concluded with applied exercises consisting of watching a press conference and evaluating it through an open discussion session on the most important results of the course, and how to build on them in the future.

“Such training programmes are very important for educating directors general in the Ministry of Education, as they deal with the media of all kinds, which is very important, especially in this era of digitisation and means of communication,” said Yaqoub al Shehaimi, Director-general of Education in Dhofar.

The programme aims to help the concerned persons and officials to get acquainted with the basics and rules of dealing with the media in real circumstances.