42 new private schools needed to meet demand

There is a need of 42 new privates schools at all levels until 2022 to meet the increasing demand and population growth, said a senior official from Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEH) in Qatar.
This is in addition to the existing 262 schools (KG-12) teaching 23 different curriculum with a total enrollment of 183,341 students, highlighted Dr Khalid Mohammed Al Hur, the director of Higher Education Institute at the (MoEH) while speaking at the opening of the Education Investment Conference yesterday at Westin Doha.
Qatar has encouraged investment in private education exempting the sector from customs, providing with free water and electricity, land plots, buildings, textbooks and school vouchers for Qatari students and many other incentives, Al Hur stressed.
The MoEH introduced the position of Undersecretary Assistant for Private Education under which the private school and licensing office operates, said Al Hur.
The government in collaboration with Qatar Chamber has offered eleven land plots for private education, and the ministry has begun to implement its strategy 2017-2022 aiming to provide with diversity of education opportunities, Al Hur told The Peninsula at the sideline of the conference.
Al Hur said that recently one private university had opened its campus in Doha. "Many more international universities want to establish their campuses here," he said, adding that the applications were in the pipeline. To a question about the exact number of foreign universities interested in opening campuses in Qatar, he gave no figure saying: "Many applications have fulfilled the requirements and are under process."
Private education is essential component of the education system in Qatar where investors from different nationalities, teachers and staffs have involved.
Qatar has created a conducive environment for the investment in education with clear vision and ease of procedures for licensing under the law No 23/2015 regulating private schools and guide for licenses of private schools, said Al Hur.
The only education event of its kind in Qatar, it is held under the patronage of H E Dr Mohammed bin Abdul Wahid Al Hammadi, Minister of Education and Higher Education, Qatar, supported by the Qatar Chamber and is organised by Informa Tharawat.
Qatar’s private education sector is expected to triple in 2020 under the significant expansion of the private sector in education over the last three decades. The global education expenditure is growing year by year, making education a lucrative market in which private education companies are eager to invest, said Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman, Qatar Chamber. Qatar has allocated huge funds for education which is QR20.6bn, representing 10.4 percent of the total expenditure of 2017.
Over the past decades, Qatar has remarkably achieved enormous progress in the field of education by establishing a strong academic system that is of great value to Qatar’s generations.
Qatar is ranked in 2017 the fifth in the quality of the education system, according to the latest Global Competitiveness Report 2016-17 issued by the World Economic Forum.
Mohammed bin Tawar Al Kuari, Vice Chairman of QC, said the vast participation of specialized companies and interested investor in EdEx Conference and Exhibition shows that Qatar has become attractive hub for education investment.
The education committee at QC is holding regular meetings with investors to solve problems and challenges that face private education.
The two-day EdEx conference and exhibition provides ministries, public and private school leaders with the opportunity to discover the latest ideas and solutions that will help the nation move towards delivering a more competitive education system.