DOHA: All schools in Qatar will reopen on September 10 after the summer break, the Supreme Education Council (SEC) announced yesterday.
This also marks the beginning of the new academic year in Qatar.
This year students in Qatar had one of the longest summer breaks, that stretched for more than 70 days.
A statement issued by the SEC said that “the new academic year for all schools in the country will begin on September 10 after completing registration of students”.
The announcement has created confusion among some expatriate schools that are scheduled to reopen on a different date, mostly September 8 and September 9. These schools have also received a circular from the SEC saying the new academic year will begin on September 10.
“We have received the circular when we have been preparing to reopen the school on September 8. We will have to reschedule the reopening if the SEC insists on the new date. We will take a decision very soon,” a senior official of an Indian school told this daily yesterday.
He, however, hoped that the SEC would give an exemption to these schools in this regard.
The SEC had earlier announced its decision to unify the holidays of all the Independent and private schools. However, some expatriate schools had been exempted from this rule during the winter break last year.
A principal of another Indian school that is also scheduled to reopen on September 8 shared the same view. He hinted that principals of all the Indian schools would meet shortly to discuss the issue.
For Indian schools and some other Asian expatriate schools, the academic year starts in April, while the Independent schools, international schools and most other private schools begin their academic year in September.
The SEC statement added that a total of 12,863 new students have been enrolled in Independent schools for the new academic year through the online registration system.
The online registration has eased the admission procedures, it added. Those who have not yet completed the procedures can do it online or by visiting the headquarters of the SEC in Dafna and they would be able to start classes on September 15.
The SEC has set up a special section to receive complaints from parents and students. All complaints will be attended to within a maximum of 48 hours, it added.
The Peninsula
