Qatar will make public schools self-managed

Qatar’s education system is to undergo massive reform, with public schools being turned into self-managing institutions with international curriculum standards, educationists said.

The move was announced yesterday at the Education for a New Era Conference, convened to present the achievements of the country’s education reform.

“The new schools dubbed ‘independent schools’ are designed to better prepare students for the challenges of living and working in a competitive and technologically driven world,” said Adel Al Sayed of the Supreme Council for Education (SCE), the country’s primary authority on education policy and the body responsible for leading the K-12 education reform.

The SCE has embarked on a five-year plan aimed at turning 140 government schools, out of the existing 220, into independent schools — self-managing institutions guided by international curriculum standards.

The plan launched in September 2004 with 12 pilot schools will see an additional 20 institutes join the programme in the next academic year.

The objective is to improve the quality of the public education system, which caters to Qatari nationals and children of government employees eligible for public education.

“The objective is to provide child-focused instruction that enhances achievement and scholarship.

Teaching methods will vary from school to school but all will focus on providing students with the skills needed to be successful in today’s world, including critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, problem solving, and the ability to use technology and communicate effectively,” said Sabah Al Haidoos, acting director of the Supreme Council’s Education Institute that will directly oversee the formation and operation of the independent schools.

The Education Institute will support the independent schools by developing curriculum standards in key subjects such as Arabic, English, maths and science.

It will also provide professional development opportunities for teachers and principals.

Two other institutes under the umbrella of the SCE — the Evaluation Institute and the Post Secondary Education Institute — will respectively monitor and assess students’ progress and schools’ performance, and advise students on career options and higher education opportunities in Qatar.

Independent schools are government-funded and supervised by the SCE. “The interest is great and the demand from parents to admit their children was so high that all of the schools had a waiting list,” Al Haidoos said.