Private school admission period extended till Jan

DOHA: The Ministry of Education and Higher Education has extended admission period in private schools from mid-October to end of January next year for the benefit of newly arriving students, a senior official of the Private Schools Office at the Ministry has said.

Hamad Al Ghali (pictured), Director of Private Schools Office at the Ministry, said that more than 10,000 seats currently remain vacant in private schools. 

“No child fulfilling the requirements has been denied admission in private schools and currently there are more than 10,000 vacant seats in private schools,” Al Ghali told The Peninsula in an exclusive interview.

He said that 18 newly-opened schools alone have 7,667 vacant seats in addition to 2,800 seats which were already available. 

“These schools teach British, American, French, Turkish and Indian curriculum,” said the official.

Al Ghali rejected complaints from some parents about shortage of seats in private schools. “Some parents who fail to find a seat for their children in a certain private school would claim a shortage in all private schools,” said Al Ghali.

He said to help expatriate children, the Ministry had extended the admission period in private schools that usually end in mid October to the end of January next year, on special consideration to new-comer expatriate families. 

He said that community schools have the right to give priority to students from the respective communities while admission in other schools should be based on results of the placement tests, in addition to other requirements.

Private schools are not permitted to teach any content that is not in conformity with the culture, values and religion of the country as well the Qatari laws, said Al Ghali. 

Any school violating this rule will be asked to rectify it in the first instance. If it repeats the violation, the Ministry will apply the provisions of Decision No. 23 of 2015, which stipulated stopping privileges provided by the ministry, fines up to QR200,000, cancellation of licence and closure of the school. 

Fees not included in officially approved list cannot be collected 

The contents of all books entering the country have been checked and should be approved by the Ministry of Culture and Sport, as well as the Customs authorities, Al Ghali said. 

“The owner/director of the school must sign an undertaking not to teach contents incompatible with the Islamic culture, values of the society and Qatari laws. Schools are accountable to the ministry regarding contents, and are obliged to raise Qatari flags during the morning assembly. However, some international schools have no morning assembly. That is why they do not raise the flag nor perform the Qatari national anthem,” Al Ghali explained.

It is mandatory for all private schools to raise the Qatari flag and play the Qatari national anthem during any event held in the schools. 

Al Ghali said that all tuition fees as well as additional fees are approved by the private schools committee at the ministry and no school is permitted to collect fees that are not included in the officially approved list. 

However, all the schools are not following a similar system for fees. Several types of additional fees like those for uniform , transport, placement, booking seat, admission are not imposed by all the schools.

Schools have been asked to display the list that includes different types of fees approved by the ministry in a visible manner, Al Ghali said.

If the parents are suspicious about any fee imposed by the school, they need to check the list and if it is not included, they must contact the ministry immediately through its hotline. 

The official said that the proposed plan to grade private schools aims to enhance competitiveness, quality of education, and help parents choose the school they want. 

The grading will take into account whether the school has obtained local and international accreditation, school buildings, and other facilities. 

Asked why only a few schools open every year despite the fact that the ministry receives dozens of applications, Al Ghali cited a number of reasons, including the lack of follow-up even by applicants who have got the initial approval, the failure to meet the requirements (like building specifications) and get approval from other competent authorities. 

The ministry receives applications for opening new schools in November and December every year and the applications are considered invalid after June 30, which means, the applicant needs to apply again.

Regarding geographical location of the schools, Al Ghali said that the applicant needs to get initial approval from the Ministry of Economy and Commerce before signing a lease contract for opening the school. 

The ministry will soon issue a health specification guide to all private school canteens, he said.

He said no new school has been included in the school voucher programme this year, because none has received local or global accreditation.

The number of schools included in the programme remains at 75 schools including 12 schools that are stopped from admitting new students under the scheme, Al Ghali said.