File photo of students.
Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) is working to establish four new STEM secondary schools next academic year as part of an ambitious drive to increase the number of graduates in science and technology disciplines, a senior ministry official has revealed.
Speaking on the third episode of Podcast AlTanmiya, MoEHE Undersecretary, Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi, said the ministry is working to surpass, rather than simply achieve, the target of raising science-specialisation graduates to 18 percent by 2030 under the Third National Development Strategy.
“We hope to exceed this target and achieve it before 2030,” he said, noting that the new STEM schools will focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics while attracting more Qatari students into scientific fields.
He stressed that Qatar’s future workforce requires greater numbers of doctors, engineers and specialists in rapidly growing sectors including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and data science. The ministry, he added, is expanding scholarship opportunities and university placements both inside and outside Qatar to support these national priorities.
Al Nuaimi also highlighted the ministry’s efforts to make quality education more accessible for expatriate families through sustainable initiatives rather than temporary solutions.
He said the long-running Assalam Schools initiative, established more than 15 years ago, currently operates around six schools providing free, high-quality education for children from low-income resident families. “The ministry is working to expand the programme’s capacity.” In addition, Al Nuaimi said that cooperation with private schools under their social responsibility programmes has expanded dramatically.
He added: “What initially began with only 50 to 100 subsidised places has grown within months to more than 8,000 seats offering either fully funded education or tuition discounts of up to 50 and 70 percent, depending on families’ financial circumstances.
The undersecretary reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to inclusive education, saying nearly 100 government schools are now equipped to integrate students with disabilities into mainstream classrooms.
“Alongside specialised kindergartens and schools serving children with hearing, visual, autism and Down syndrome conditions, the ministry provides educational vouchers to help families meet the significantly higher costs of specialised private education,” said Al Nuaimi.
He said many students with disabilities successfully complete their education, continue to university or enter the labour market, supported by ongoing cooperation with the Civil Service and Government Development Bureau to improve employment opportunities across government institutions. Addressing concerns over the status of the Arabic language, Al Nuaimi said preserving Arabic remains a national priority because it is central to Qatar’s identity.
He noted that all official ministry correspondence is conducted in Arabic, while teachers in government schools are required to use Modern Standard Arabic inside classrooms. Private schools are likewise required to teach Arabic. On private tutoring, Al Nuaimi described the phenomenon as a negative practice that shifts students’ focus from developing genuine skills to merely obtaining examination certificates.
Instead, he said the ministry has invested heavily in alternative academic support through digital learning platforms containing tens of thousands of educational videos and practice materials, alongside year-round remedial classes and intensive revision programmes during examination periods.
“The ministry is also aligning overseas scholarship programmes with future labour market requirements. More than 5,000 Qatari students are currently studying under government scholarship schemes at universities inside and outside the country,” said Al Nuaimi.
He said that New scholarship specialisations for the 2026-2027 academic year include nuclear engineering and data science, complementing existing programmes in sectors such as industry, banking, cybersecurity and energy.
Early childhood education also remains a strategic priority. Al Nuaimi said enrolment in kindergarten has rebounded strongly, with the ministry introducing its “Sunrise” initiative, which admits children from the age of three in selected schools.
He said early education equips children with essential academic, behavioural and social skills before entering primary school, while ongoing efforts seek to expand nursery provision within government ministries and institutions to better support working mothers. To strengthen recruitment, the ministry continues to expand programmes such as the “Tomouh” initiative at Qatar University, which offers scholarships, monthly stipends and employment status from the first day of study.
Partnerships with Lusail University and Doha University are preparing teachers in STEM, information technology and English language education, while the “Teach for Qatar” programme enables graduates from fields such as engineering and medicine to transition into teaching after specialised training.
The ministry also invests heavily in professional development through continuous training, international study visits and collaboration programmes with Harvard University and educational institutions in Finland.
Discussing the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, Al Nuaimi rejected suggestions that AI could replace foundational education. He argued that AI tools can provide information but cannot substitute for the structured knowledge, critical thinking and analytical skills developed through schools and universities.
