Global Education Executives
QATAR
Qatar, situated between Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf with a population of over 3 million and a booming economy, is a regional hub for quality education, boasting of strong progress in strengthening its education in the past few decades. Alongside its Qatari citizens, Qatar’s numerous opportunities for economic growth and job openings due to its natural gas and oil reserves have attracted its unique and diverse population of expatriates, who make up over 80% of the population and contribute to Qatar’s successful GDP.
It is no wonder that, with an increasingly stable economy like Qatar’s, the education system there is diverse, subsidized, and high-quality. The founding of the Ministry of Education in 1956 kickstarted its educational reform and implementation of public education on a national scale, including detailed and intentional choices like opening all-girls schools and balancing the student-teacher ratio within the country. These standards have a strong contribution to the quality education. Public education in Qatar is free and compulsory for Qatari citizens ages 6-16, with tertiary education and vocational schooling offered to those wishing to pursue higher degrees. Classes are taught in Arabic, the national language of Qatar, and include a range of subjects like reading, writing, and mathematics that hold up to international standards. Qatar also has schools accommodating to those with disabilities, a rare yet much-needed implementation that sets it apart from other countries.
Interestingly enough, however, this free, public education is only available to citizens of Qatari descent; in fact, a lot of private schools in Qatar are dedicated to expatriate residents, for whom citizenship in Qatar (and therefore, access to benefits like free education and healthcare) is almost impossible to obtain. With over 60% of schools in Qatar being international, different expatriate communities have established their own, uniquely-catered schools for their residents with approval from the government. The government not only encourages accessible international schools for its expatriate residents, it promises to open new land to accommodate the various cultures that contribute to its population.
Although the Qatari education system is far from perfect, the government’s visible and vigorous efforts towards educational reform and strengthening reflect in its high education status for the entire country; it will inevitably struggle with discrepancies like the gap between certain public schools and private schools, as well as the gap between rural and city schools, but on a whole, the quality, accessibility, and diversity of their education has created a well-rounded educational environment for current and future students alike.
References
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Marie, Valentine (September 8, 2024). The education system in Qatar. Expatica. https://www.expatica.com/qa/education/children-education/education-system-in-qatar-7441/
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Ministry of Education, Qatar (n.d.). State of Qatar: Education. https://mofa.gov.qa/en/state-of-qatar/Key-Facts-and-Information/education-in-qatar
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Wikipedia (n.d.). Education in Qatar. Wikipedia.com. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Qatar
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Wikipedia (n.d.). Qatar. Wikipedia.com. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar