North al batinah: The Directorate General of Education in North Al Batinah Governorate commenced today the final qualifications for the Holy Quran Competition for the 2025/2026 academic year.
According to Oman News Agency, the competition, organized by the Ministry of Education across schools in the governorate's wilayats, includes two main branches: "Recitation and Melodious Voice" and "Memorization of the Holy Quran," and will continue until 15 February.
Ahmed Rashid Al Sinani, Senior Supervisor of Islamic Education at the North Al Batinah Directorate of Education, stated that the number of registered contestants this year reached 10,344 across both branches. This includes 6,505 contestants in the various levels of the Holy Quran Memorization branch and 3,875 contestants in the Recitation and Melodious Voice branch.
He added that participants in the Memorization branch competed across six levels. The Distinguished Level involves memorizing ten consecutive parts or segments of five consecutive parts, with 34 contestants. The First Level, for grades 11-12, requires memorizing five consecutive parts and saw 412 participants. The Second Level, for grades 8-10, involves four consecutive parts with 1,271 participants. The Third Level, for grades 5-7, requires three consecutive parts with 1,581 participants. The Fourth Level, for grades 3-4, covers two consecutive parts with 1,555 participants, while the Fifth Level, spanning from early education to grade 2, requires memorizing one part and included 1,652 participants.
In the "Recitation and Melodious Voice" branch, competition took place across three main levels. The First Level, for students in grades 10-12, involves the recitation of four consecutive parts and included 645 contestants. The Second Level, for grades 5-9, covers the recitation of three consecutive parts with 1,557 participants. The Third Level, for grades 1-4, involves two consecutive parts and saw 1,673 participants.
Preliminary qualifications were conducted for all participants within each wilayat of the governorate, leading to the final qualifications, for which 108 contestants qualified. These finalists include 72 in the Memorization branch and 36 in the Recitation and Melodious Voice branch, in addition to a special level for students with hearing and intellectual disabilities. The final nationwide qualifications across the Sultanate of Oman are scheduled to be held in April of this year.
The Holy Quran Competition organized by the Ministry of Education is part of the Ministry's efforts to encourage students to memorize the Holy Quran, contemplate its meanings, develop recitation skills, discover exceptional voices, and instill Islamic values in students.