We hope to achieve overall development because it is of utmost importance to us. Because of it, our writings and discussions dwell on education.
We focus on education in order to achieve the required level in this vital field. However, our experiments in this regard belie that aim.
Our wise leadership sensed the heavy responsibility when it assigned the Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani to head the Supreme Education Council.
Since then we feel optimistic about the future of education, taking into account the Premier’s ability to take decisions and constructive and practical measures. Moreover, the Minister of Education addressed a number of issues and mentioned steps that are to be taken, during a press conference at the start of the school year.
At the start of the new school year, I shall point out several things and make suggestions to the Prime Minister and education officials.
- Skilled teachers should address the matter that students are worryingly weak in Arabic language.
- Strong focus on teaching English language to students has made some of them write Arabic from left to right. Also, foreign books and stories contain destructive and deviant ideas and pictures.
- Interest in elements of national identity has diminished in our schools. Moreover, foreign concepts are being used during celebrations and other activities and in choosing names of school groups and teams.
- The curriculum administration and education heads have ceased to play an important role as a result of the accelerating changes in education, which has opened the door for unqualified people to work in this field.
- Laxity in enforcement of rules has resulted in behaviours and phenomena that contradict our values and religion. These behaviours promote gay acts, God forbid. Those indulging in such behaviour are few in number, but they are like a pernicious disease that spreads in the body.
- Education has been emptied of authentic value and turned into mere information and knowledge that students can get from other sources, especially now with growing use of electronic devices. In addition, there is a state of confusion and conflict of interests.
- Formalities and superficial matters have taken precedence over substantial issues. What is the point of having beautiful offices, buildings and teachers if the educational level is at its lowest?
- Lack of balance in dividing leadership positions among men and women has harmed the educational process significantly despite the availability of skilled men. Granting women equality should not mean excluding qualified men or replacing them with women.
- Long school hours exhaust students and parents, and have not been reduced despite demands for shorter classes. This affects families and society negatively.
- There are numerous papers and exhausting questions in national tests and the comprehensive evaluation, while there are calls to provide quantity over quality.
- Citizens with experience and skills have been excluded from some positions, and some groups have taken advantage of this to assign positions according to their interests.
The aforementioned points do not cover all the issues we want to discuss, because education is a very big subject.
We just want to do our part and deliver our message as we feel the responsibility and duty that lie on our shoulders, and we are confident that whoever is carrying this responsibility will use all human and physical resources to salvage education, which is facing many dangers and obstacles.
