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 the ‘Illuminations’ initiative, which the Ministry launched under the slogan ‘We Dialogue, We Enlighten, We Rise’, is an ambitious and serious initiative that embodies our convictions and belief in a meaningful and transparent dialogue with all parties to the educational system.
The Minister said in a statement on the sidelines of the initiative's first discussion session, which was titled ‘Education between the family and the school’, the transparency of the proposition that was heard in the first session demonstrated that the parties in the educational field have a real passion for their educational role, and a firm belief in the importance of strengthening joint cooperation between the family and the school in preparing a generation that exhibits positive behaviour and is armed with the skills of the 21st Century, expressing pleasure at the level of interaction and attendance. She noted that the Ministry is a home for all those interested in educational affairs.
On this occasion, the Minister honoured all the speakers in the discussion session. The session, which was moderated by Maryam Al Mohannadi, the educational expert in the office of the Minister of Education and Higher Education and the general supervisor of the initiative, began with an interactive presentation by Director of the Diplomatic Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H E Dr. Abdulaziz Al Hurr, as a keynote speaker, in which he posed a question about what education everyone is talking about and seeking to achieve. In the context of answering this question, he discussed the different definitions of education, addressing the importance of integration between the values system and the ethics system moving from belief in a set of values to practicing and translating them into a tangible reality in daily life transactions.
He referred to the many educational experiences in the educational systems in Singapore and Japan, for example, noting that integration between the value and moral systems will bear fruit by investing in strengthening the 21st Century skills of students, including professional and life skills, and working to prepare them to move to the university level, and then to the labour market armed with the skills of self-learning, coexistence with others, innovation and critical thinking.
He stressed that participation of the Ministry’s leaders in the session is a real proof of their belief in the importance of listening to the voices of the educational field and those interested in the educational process.
Director of Maria Coptic Preparatory School for Girls, Naglaa Al Kuwari, participated in the dialogue on this topic. She noted that the Ministry’s policies did not neglect the educational aspect of the educational process, stressing that the school's role is not limited to communicating with the guardian in negative evidence, and should also focus on promoting positive behaviour among students.
Abdul Rahman Al Yafei participated on behalf of the parents. He confirmed that the family and the school are partners in raising the student, and that the greatest responsibility lies with the family, while Wadha Al Athba, the physical education coordinator at Al Wukair Secondary School for Girls, participated on behalf of the teachers, who in turn indicated that the teacher who does not care about the educational aspect has to reconsider himself and recalculate, stressing that moral values and practices vary in ways of teaching and instilling them in young people from one stage to another, according to the characteristics of each age group.
Student Abdullah Al Kubaisi from Omar Ibn Al Khattab Secondary School also participated. He said that the family’s trust in the children and the school’s participation in education will contribute to solving many problems.
