According to the REAC for South Central Asia, Kathleen Kisting Alam, there has been an on-going disagreement between the Sri Lankan Ministry of Education and the teachers who mark the examination papers. As a result of this disagreement, the marking of exam papers might be delayed and the results of the exam will possibly not be released until the disagreement is resolved, possibly as late as
January/February of 2009. This may adversely affect students applying for admission into US degree programs.
AMIDEAST just released an awesome document, “Overview of Education and Higher Education in Oman”, August 2008. I couldn’t figure out if it was online somewhere (I got it from the AMIDEAST mailing list), but you should be able to contact oman@amideast.org to get a copy. If not, just drop me a line, and I will be happy to send it your way.UPDATE: They’re going to put it online at some point in the future, but for now, just email them directly for a copy.
I just turned in a country profile for the in-progress revision to the 1999 book, “A Guide to Educational Systems around the World.” According to the editor, Susan Whipple, there will be country updates added to the NAFSA website throughout the next 3-4 months. Keep your eyes peeled! They are still looking for authors, too, so contact me if you’d like further information on the countries needing rewrites (especially if you’ve got experience or connections with African and Eastern European countries).