Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi
Doha: Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi said that it is a matter of pride that Qatar celebrates its National Day and its people adhere to their Qatari, Arab and Islamic national identity, in light of its social, cultural, economic, urban, scientific, technical, and political prosperity.
About translating the National Day slogan into the educational environment, the Minister, in a statement on the occasion of Qatar National Day, said that schools carry out many classroom and out-of-class activities that enhance the national and cultural identity with its various components, and enhance awareness of the diverse Qatari environment and the preservation of cultural heritage. Highlighting the achievements of the Ministry, she said that Ministry with its five sectors is serving nearly 400,000 students in government and private schools. The Minister said that the Ministry worked hard to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on education sector, minimising educational loss in public or private schools and universities. She said the Ministry succeeded in developing the national educational curriculum for Qatar — from kindergarten to grade 12.
On the public-private partnership (PPP) system, she said that the Ministry is working on the establishment of two science and technology schools within the PPP system school construction projects.
The Minister said that the two schools belong to the second batch of students — a boys’ school with educational levels starting from grade 7 to grade 12, with a capacity to accommodate 600 students, and a girls’ school with academic levels starting from grade 9 to grade 12 with a capacity of 400 students.
Speaking about students with disabilities, she pointed out to the launch of an initiative to review and revise policies related to additional support and education of people with disabilities.
The Minister highlighted the launch of a second initiative to ready 66 schools to accommodate students with disabilities with the addition of 4 schools to bring the total number to 70 schools, adding that the first initiative was launched in 2016.
Regarding gifted students, she said that the ministry has prepared two specialised programmes for gifted students with partners from inside and outside the ministry — the first on critical reading, and the second on machine learning and artificial intelligence.
With regard to the nationalisation of academic and administrative jobs in the ministry, the Minister said that the Ministry nationalised the coordinator job by 73.2%, and teachers by 42.7% in both the kindergarten and foundational stages.
She said that the Qatarisation of the position of Deputy Director for Academic Affairs reached 95.5% in girls’ schools. The ministry has also appointed 489 Qatari employees in the ministry and schools despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Giving utmost importance to training and qualification as they are most important elements of the success of any educational system, the Minister said 1,056 male and female teachers obtained the professional license certificate in 2021, including 291 Qatari teachers.
