Owners and directors of private schools and kindergarten at the meeting
DOHA: In a new initiative that would benefit several expatriate communities in Qatar, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has allowed private schools to conduct evening classes for adults, parallel to their regular curriculum.
The Ministry has also announced plans to evaluate the performance of all private kindergartens in the country.
Addressing a meeting of the owners and heads of private schools and kindergartens recently, Hamad Al Ghali, Director of the Private Schools Office at the Ministry, said the schools can charge a fee for adult education, but it should be lower than their regular fees.
Adult education can be offered at the school in the evening or on a home-based system, he explained.
A senior official of the Pakistan Education Centre, in an interview with The Peninsula recently said PEC has already been granted permission by the Ministry to start evening classes for people of all ages. The move will especially benefit expatriate communities, with large populations but with few schools.
Officials of the Egyptian and Sudanese schools in Qatar were quick to welcome the decision, saying there are several expatriates from their communities here who could not avail themselves of formal education. The number of Egyptian and Sudanese schools in Qatar is too small compared to the relatively large size of both communities, they noted.
Al Ghali said several private KGs have been selected for the proposed assessment. Private schools have also been asked to conduct a survey to measure satisfaction of parents and students about the performance of the school.
Private schools and KGs are not allowed to collect fees before their due time. They are also not permitted to introduce new or additional fees before getting approval from the Ministry, said the official.
Al Ghali said during the current academic year, the Private School Office will classify private schools into three categories in accordance with the applied academic and administrative standards. It will also issue guidelines for assessment of student conduct at private schools.
He said the aim of the annual meeting was to update the participants on the priorities in the new academic year and discuss administrative and academic issues.
“Fee comes on the top of these issues. Schools must clearly introduce to parents the policy of tuition fees and additional fees that are approved by the ministry and it must be well-documented,” said Al Ghali.
Any student who does not have a personal number will not be allowed to register and private schools must comply with the education level, grade, certificate attestation and equivalence system stated in the guidelines, especially when a student moves from one education system to another.
Al Ghali asked the schools to update their database in order to include admission, examination results, beneficiaries of the education voucher system, and data related to the teachers. The ministry will launch a special website to provide parents with necessary information about private schools and KGs to help them make the right decision.
He highlighted the importance of teaching three mandatory subjects in all private schools - Arabic language for Arab students with at least four lessons per week, Islamic studies with two lessons for Muslim students and Qatar history for all students.
Omar Abdelaziz Al-Naama, Director of Schools Evaluation Department at the ministry, explained that the department is going to hold a meeting on September 29 to discuss the national school accreditation system, as part of plans to make it mandatory for all private schools.
