Nobody can deny the strenuous efforts our country makes, the amount of money it spends, the studies it conducts and plans it draws up to promote education at all levels. Nor can anyone deny the role the Supreme Education Council officials play in supporting and adopting new educational ideas. What matters, however, is the implementation of these plans and educational strategies.
Have these plans and strategies been adopted properly? Does it produce any concrete results? Is the outcome satisfying? Is the education indicator rising perceptibly or falling alarmingly? Does the education system help achieve the visions and objectives we have?
Unfortunately, education is dying despite all the modern facilities and beautiful buildings that contain everything for the comfort and security of the students. Schools are not the most loved places for students anymore. They do not attract them like they did in the past.
Education is now walking a path full of missteps and obstacles. Everybody takes decisions and makes plans that cost too much money and effort. Since times immemorial, scientific progress and regress have depended on students’ ability to read and write properly and their knowledge. Students are the axis of any successful education system.
We have failed to achieve this progress because of the Independent schools, which have proved to be a heavy burden on the shoulders of officials, administrations and teachers.
The current education system focuses on appearances without paying attention to substance. It considers neat worksheets and tidy files — mere décor and formalities — a measure of excellence. Sorry to say, this system totally disregards the core of the matter.
Independent school administrations punish students for not wearing school uniforms, not for failing to do their homework. The education system is only about extra-long curricula that contain thoughtless stuffing. This stuffing puts pressure on teachers who are no longer able to properly teach the students. It also prevents the students from comprehending their lessons.
Everybody is complaining about the current education system: the teachers, the students and their families. But all this complaining is in vain. Everybody is recruited by the education system; each family member participates in the educational process now.
Cheating in exams is a new phenomenon in Qatari society. It has spread like wildfire. This is probably why our boys now have better grades than the girls.
In any other country, new ideas are applied in classes for some time to see whether they prove successful or not. If these ideas succeed, they are applied in all classes. In Qatar, however, new ideas are considered successful even before experimentation.
