Doha, Qatar: The National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA), in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), announced the implementation of the Cybersecurity Educational Curricula in 170 private schools during the first phase, followed by 100 private schools during the next phase.
The implementation of Educational Cybersecurity Curricula in private schools comes after their implementation in all government schools in 2023, based on NCSA’s keenness to build a digitally secure society, and its continuous endeavour to enhance digital safety indicators in society.
The Cybersecurity Educational Curricula aims to build a new generation capable of dealing with the digital world safely and effectively and raise children and adolescents’ awareness of various concepts related to cybersecurity and digital safety. It targets students in various educational levels from the first grade of primary school to the third grade of secondary school.
On this occasion, Assistant Undersecretary for Private Education Affairs at MoEHE Omar Abdulaziz Al Naema clarified that the Cybersecurity Educational Curricula project is an important step aimed at enhancing students’ awareness of cybersecurity concepts and digital safety. It also plays a direct role in enhancing the overall educational content by introducing a new focus on digital literacy.
Al Naema added that the implementation of the Cybersecurity Educational Curricula in private schools is a step towards further expansion of the application of the curricula at a state level.
Director of the National Cyber Excellence Department at the National Cyber Security Agency Dalal Al Aqeedi, added “The agency aims, as part of its overall strategy, to enhance cybersecurity indicators, digital safety, and digital literacy for various segments of the society, with students at the forefront.
Digital literacy for students will be a fundamental pillar in preparing the community as a whole. She stressed that the Cybersecurity Educational Curricula is fully consistent with the preventive cybersecurity strategy adopted by the NCSA for enhancing digital security indicators in the State of Qatar.
The NCSA, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, will launch, during January 2024, site visits to schools as part of the Cyber Echo project, which aims to further enhance digital literacy for students at different educational levels.
The project will complement the Educational Cybersecurity Curricula and also provide specialized training content for trainers and parents.
The project targeted 80 government schools in its first phase, and in this phase, will target around 70 private schools, bringing the number of targeted schools in the country to about 150 government and private schools.
