DOHA: The recently-established Qatar-Finland International School (QFI School) hosted an official opening ceremony at its premises on Wednesday.
H E Dr Mohammed Abdul Wahed Ali Al Hammadi, Minister of Education and Higher Education and Krista Kiuru, Minister of Education, Science and Telecommunication of Finland were present at the ceremony.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister hailed the Finnish experience in education and said Qatar is keen to attract more outstanding international schools to the country.
“I am extremely honoured and happy to take part in the launching of the Qatar-Finland International School”, said Krista Kiuru.
“Participating in this ceremony today is not an every-day occasion for a minister, but a very special one. This is the first time in the history that Qatar and Finland are practically joining hands to deliver better education and creating something new. As the representative of the Finnish government, I am happy to see this partnership in a broader context – as an important milestone in the friendly and ever developing relationship between our countries,” she added.
Qatar-Finland International School provides Finnish educational practices tailored for the Qatari context. The QFI School is a primary school for boys and girls and is open now for grades 0, 1 and 2 for children aged 5-7. Expansion towards grade 6 commences in 2015. The main language of instruction is English. Admission is on-going, the school said in a statement yesterday.
“Our job as educators is to sustain high school standards by supporting the development of each and every one of our students. We believe that the best way to provide high-quality education is through the joy of learning,” said principal Juha Repo.
QFI School operates through partnership with the campus-based school of the University of Jyvaskyla Finland. In the 2013 QS World University rankings the Faculty of Education of the University of Jyvaskyla ranked in the top 100 globally.
Finnish education has repeatedly been declared one of the best in the world by major global ranking studies such as PISA, TIMMS, and PIRLS. Finnish strengths in education consist of a socio-constructivist concept of learning, excellent school operations, proven quality teacher training, constructive assessment and evaluation, and flexibility enabling a high level of child-centered learning, said the statement.
The QFI school was invited to Qatar by the Supreme Education Council. Located in North Duhail , the school operates under the Outstanding Schools Programme, part of Qatar’s ongoing educational reform, Education for a New Era, through which Qatar is building a world class education system. It is operated by EduCluster Finland.
The Peninsula
