Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Dr. Mohammed Abdulwahed Al Hammadi and Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Qatar H E Samia Zekaria during the launch of new Ethiopian Community International School at Al Shahaniya yesterday. PIC: Salim Matramkot/The Pe
Doha: The Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Dr. Mohammed Abdulwahed Al Hammadi and Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Qatar H E Samia Zekaria officially launched the new Ethiopian Community International School (ECIS) at Al Shahaniya yesterday.
The school was gifted to the Ethiopian community by Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in 2017 during a visit by former Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegn in December 2017.
With over 20,000 Ethiopians in Qatar, the community school, which began operations in September, has so far enrolled pupils in kindergarten to grade two, using the Ethiopian curriculum. Students will be taught in English, and its opening will help reduce the burden of education cost to many Ethiopians who send their wards back home to study.
Qatar Charity CEO Yousef bin Ahmed Al Kuwari and Acting Director of African Affairs Department Ambassador H E Abdulrahman bin Mohammed Al Dosari were also present.
Speaking at the launch, the Minister said: “The opening of the Ethiopian Community International School in Doha comes in implementation of the directives of the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to allocate a school for members of the Ethiopian community to enable them realise their academic and scientific aspirations.”
The Education Ministry developed the school to the tune of over QR6m. Simultaneously, the Ministry of Endowment (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs, Qatar Charity, Qatar International Islamic Bank, and Al Sulaiteen Group furnished and donated to establishing the school.
“We are very much indebted to the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for his instant response to the question of our community and thereby the gracious gift of this premise during the visit of our former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to Doha in 2017. This grant is one of the tangible proofs of the strong bilateral ties between the two sisterly countries,” Ambassador Zekaria said.
“This school is precious to our citizens living here. They couldn’t send their kids to school because it wasn’t affordable for them. So, this school will contribute a lot to our community, and it is a good start in education. We are going to try to have good students who will benefit from this.”
The ambassador also thanked Qatar for its help to Ethiopians during the peak of the coronavirus. She also emphasised the need to develop the economic ties between both countries further.
“We are grateful to the government of Qatar for their help, especially with COVID-19. They helped our community here and also sent medical supplies to Ethiopia. The relationship between the countries is growing, and we hope to strengthen our economic ties further.
“We try to bring Ethiopian products to Qatar, and also investors who will like to invest in Ethiopia. These are the things we would like to pursue,” she added.
The school principal Abdul Basit said the school intends to keep growing, granted the license to accommodate 450 students up to the secondary level.
“The school can hold up to grade eight without expansion. From next year the classes will be upgraded and gradually until we get to the maximum level. We have kids from Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Egypt, and Eritrea. This school is established for the Ethiopian community, but education is universal. The Ethiopian curriculum is strong, and the infrastructure is good; anyone’s welcome to the school,” Basit said.
