Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) announced yesterday the launch of week-long activities as part of Qatar’s celebrations of the sixth International Day of Education.
Held under the theme ‘Education is everyone’s responsibility’ from January 21 to 25, the celebrations feature an array of activities that involve students and teachers from all public and private schools and their families in a bid to promote social accountability and the role of education in developing lives of individuals and societies, said MoEHE’S Assistant Undersecretary for Educational Affairs Maha Zayed Al Ruwaili in a press conference.
Al Ruwaili added that the multiple activities by parents, students and community members within schools and the exchange of their educational experiences would enrich the culture of learning, motivate students, increase community awareness and spotlight the educational development in Qatar.
The activities will include a panel themed ‘Education is everyone’s responsibility’ on Monday that brings together an elite group of teachers and education enthusiasts as well as a slew of educational, pedagogical, sports, artistic, theatrical and technical activities and an exhibition.
Approved by the UN General Assembly in 2018 to be celebrated annually on January 24, the celebration aims to highlight the importance of education in achieving development.
Al Ruwaili said the celebrations would reflect the shared responsibility of parents and schools and highlight Qatar’s active participation with the international community to achieve quality education as a main goal of the UN agenda by 2030, which consolidates Qatar’s global educational position and distinguished educational partnerships.
In a related context, she said the MoEHE is keen to develop education, focus on the State’s tendency to invest in it, and demonstrate the successes achieved in this regard, in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030.
The celebrations will be held in partnership with the Civil Service and Government Development Bureau (CSGDB).
CSGDB’s Director of Nomination and Replacement Department Dhabiya Ahmad Al Buainain announced that parents working in government agencies or their delegates would be granted a three-hour working hours reduction on the International Day of Education - a CSGDB’s bid to boost the bonds between parents and their children and enhance the role of the family in the children’s learning process. Parents who would like to attend the celebrations can submit a three-hour permission request via the Mawared platform on the day of the event, and then return to the workplace. This request can applied only once during the week of the activities, Al Buainain said.
Yet, she added that those working in public service positions that include shifts and require a mandatory presence and those who got their working hours reduced for breastfeeding and medical excusesare not included in the decision.
MoEHE’s Director of the Public Relations and Communication Department Maryam Abdullah Al Mohannadi highlighted the importance of celebrations and the need for parents to participate in the activities to observe their children’s progress.
