DOHA: About 200,000 students in Qatar will return to their classes today, with reopening of all the Independent schools and most private schools after the long summer break.
Today also marks the beginning of the new academic year (2013-2014) for 178 Independent schools and a number of private schools.
The Supreme Education Council (SEC) said yesterday that the number of students would see a significant increase this year compared to last year. A total of 192,509 students have been registered currently including 98,332 Independent school students and 94,177 private school students. This year, about 13,000 new students joined only the Independent schools through the online registration system.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Minister of Education and Higher Education and Secretary General of the Supreme Education Council (SEC) H E Dr Mohamed Abdul Wahid Al Hammadi said that in the new academic year, top priority will be given to student discipline and building more confidence among teachers.
“ This academic year we studied a number of issues affecting education and identified the requirements. Top priority will be given to reinforcing the status of teachers. We will start implementing disciplinary regulations to correct students’ behavior, maintain respect for teachers and provide good educational environment that will enable principals and school operators to focus more on the educational process,” said the Minister.
The Minister also emphasized the importance of active involvement of families in the education process. Another priority for this year is attracting more Qataris to education sector and making the profession attractive to them, despite the many challenges, said the minister.
According to the SEC, eight new kindergartens associated with the Independent schools are opening this year, taking the total number of such facilities to 47.
The number of private schools and kindergartens that are starting their new academic year today is more than 150 including 11 new schools and six kindergartens.
The figure also includes 82 international schools and 13 Arabic private schools. The number of community schools were not given. SEC said it was keen to give additional support to students with physical and mental disabilities according to specific guidelines and procedures.
The Peninsula
