Rawda Al Zaidan, Director of Private Schools Affairs at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education at the German International School-Doha.
Doha: The Ministry of Education and Higher Education is working on a proposal to allow some private schools to run two shifts under certain rules and regulation to accommodate more students to meet the growing demand for seats. The proposal is under study and expected to see the light of the day from next academic year.
“The proposal is under study and so far we have not given final approval,” Rawda Al Zaidan, Director of Private Schools Affairs at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education told The Peninsula on the sidelines of a function at the German International School-Doha yesterday.
She said that the department concerned at the Ministry is studying the pros and cons of the proposal made by some private schools to ensure that the schools meet the standards required before starting two shifts.
“This is one of the proposals that the Ministry is looking at. If things work well in terms of applying required standards, we will be able to allow two shifts from next academic year,” said Al Zaidan.
She said that the Ministry is also looking into the schools running with over-capacity due to the large number of students from countries such as India, The Philippines, and Tunisia to bring the appropriate solution for them.
“We are trying to find a solution for expatriate schools for example Indian community which is the largest expatriate community in Qatar,” said Al Zaidan.
She said that the Embassy of India is cooperating with the Ministry in finding the solution for problems of shortage of seats for students of its community in Qatar.
“The Embassy gave a number of proposals at the Ministry. Now we are working to bring appropriate solutions out of these proposals,” said Al Zaidan.
She said that the Department concerned at the Ministry is working very hard to provide educational opportunity to everybody in Qatar as this is one of the main goals of the Ministry to ensure all students get enrolled in school.
“Even a single student should not be out of class, it is not acceptable at all. Even the students who were left behind for any reason should be informed to the Ministry by those responsible,” said Al Zaidan adding that Ministry will provide something for them if it is informed about such cases.
