Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) has announced that its Social Responsibility Initiative, implemented in partnership with private schools and kindergartens across Qatar, has so far provided more than 9,000 free and discounted educational seats aimed at supporting eligible families and expanding access to quality education.
The ministry said it continues to promote equal educational opportunities through the initiative, enabling eligible students to benefit from a variety of educational options in accordance with approved regulations and criteria.
As part of its efforts to extend the programme’s benefits to a wider segment of eligible Qatari students, the ministry has also announced the reopening of applications for educational vouchers through the Maaref public services portal.
On the X platform, Director of the Private Schools Affairs Department and Acting Director of the Private Schools Licensing Department Dr. Rania Mohammed, said the seats are distributed across four categories: fully funded seats, discounted seats, seats designated for students with disabilities, and seats offered under the Educational Voucher Programme.
Dr. Mohammed revealed that the initiative currently includes around 2,400 seats provided at the value of the educational voucher. She explained that parents who enroll their children in participating schools within the voucher system do not bear any tuition-related costs.
She noted that even if a school’s tuition fees exceed the educational voucher value of QR28,000, parents are not required to pay the difference. For example, if annual tuition reaches QR40,000, the gap between the voucher value and the school’s fees is covered by the school license holder as part of their contribution to the Social Responsibility Initiative.
Dr. Mohammed also highlighted a significant update to the eligibility criteria for obtaining seats under the Educational Voucher Programme. Previously, a family’s actual income could not exceed QR25,000 per month. The threshold has now been increased to QR35,000, enabling a larger number of families to benefit from the programme.
She clarified that “actual income” refers not to the salary stated in official salary certificates, but to the family’s net income after deducting financial obligations and commitments. Parents applying for the programme are required to submit an official salary certificate along with supporting documents proving their financial obligations.
Eligible Qatari families can apply for the voucher-value seats through the Maaref portal on the Ministry of Education and Higher Education’s website, where all required documents can be uploaded electronically. The Social Responsibility Initiative for Private Schools and Kindergartens was launched to promote educational equity, support deserving families, and enable students at different educational stages to access high-quality and specialized learning opportunities.
The initiative offers a range of educational support options, including fully free seats, discounted seats, free seats for students with disabilities, and educational voucher-value seats for Qatari students. Some participating schools also provide fully free evening educational programmes.
Available educational pathways cover a variety of curricula, including the British, Indian, American, and national curricula. The ministry emphasized that all granted seats are sustainable and remain available to students until graduation.
To ensure support reaches those most in need, MoEHE has established clear eligibility criteria. Families applying for free seats must have a monthly income not exceeding QR10,000, while those seeking discounted seats must have an income of no more than QR15,000. For Qatari students applying for educational voucher-value seats, the family’s actual income must not exceed QR35,000. Applications for all categories are submitted electronically through the ministry’s website.
