Education

Ziyaad Ibn Abeeh, the Umayyad statesman, asked those who were sitting with him, “Who leads the most blissful life?” They replied, “The Commander of the Believers does!” He said, “No. The man who leads the most blissful life is a Muslim man who is married to a Muslim woman and they have enough sustenance, and each of them is happy and satisfied with their partner! This man does not know us and we do not know him!”

Islam attaches much importance to attending mosques for congregational prayers, which are the best way to offer all five daily obligatory prayers. Hence, the Prophet (peace be upon him) urged his followers to attend congregational prayers in mosques, using every method to make them eager to do so. He is authentically reported to have said: “As one walks to the mosque, every time he lifts one foot to make a step, he is credited with one good deed, a sin is removed from him and his standing (with God) is raised one step.”

Twenty-seven high school seniors and 13 juniors celebrated the last day of classes of the three-week Summer College Preview Programme at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar with a festive closing ceremony.

The Community College of Qatar (CCQ) will continue to receive registration documents from the first group of selected full-time students until August 18, 2010, officials have announced.

The necessary documents including original Qatari ID, official high school diploma/certificate, and a health certificate should be submitted at the Information Centre on the first floor of the SEC building in Al Dafna, the officials said.

“We’re extremely happy with the diversity of the first group of students,” said CCQ Officials. “Both parents and their children received the results of the ACT tests and started the process of registering for classes.”

As previously announced, CCQ Admissions Office has assured all those who wish to join CCQ that Compass Placement test will be offered at CCQ beginning October 2010.

The CCQ officials emphasised that these were not pass/fail tests. They were tools to place students in classes in which they will be most successful. Students planning to take the tests are encouraged to improve their English and mathematics skills through study and visit the ACT Compass website — http://act.org/compass — for practice tests.

The time and location for those students who have already taken the tests and wish to re-take them will be announced at a later date.

The CCQ is the first community college in the region. It was established with the aim of providing distinctive educational opportunities as part of the state’s efforts to develop the education system in alignment with Qatar’s national vision 2030, which seeks to develop a highly trained and competitive workforce that will lead sustainable development efforts.

Officials at the Higher Education Commission at the Supreme Education Council have said they would start receiving scholarship applications from high school graduates to all universities included in their lists.

The Guidance Office and the Professional Development Office at the Higher Education Commission have recently issued a students guide for scholarship programmes and higher education services in order to acquaint students with the programmes, scholarships and grants of Hamad bin Khalifa and Tamim bin Hamad, which are provided by the Higher Education Commission.

Best-selling children’s books translated into Arabic by Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP) sold out at the world’s most famous luxury department store, Harrods, just two weeks after going on sale.

The sessions of the Arab Youth Forum that was held in the Syrian capital of Damascus came to an end last week, bringing the curtain down on heated discussions on participation and the empowerment of Arab youth.

Activities of the ‘Language Journey’ programme, sponsored by the Doha Youth Centre as part of its summer activities, continued to be organised in both Canada and the UK last week.

In Canada, the students enjoyed the privilege of the presence of a unique itinerary. As they arrived at their residence in the hostels of the Algonquin College, the students started their first school day with an assessment test in preparation for sending them to their classes in the light of the procedures of the GEOS Language Institute.

The students will meet on a daily basis to be part of several recreational and cultural activities.