Doha: Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulwahed Al Hammadi has said that the Ministry has planned for providing and expanding enrolment opportunities for qualified students — citizens and residents — to enrol them in local universities in all specialisations.
Presenting the Ministry’s strategic plan for 2018 to 2022 yesterday at the State Cabinet, H E Minister of Education and Higher Education said that the plan of the Ministry also includes to establish systems for higher education in line with the best methods and standards in developed universities and assisting higher education institutions to compete globally and supporting the role of the private sector in providing high quality learning and education services.
Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani chaired the Cabinet’s regular meeting held at its seat at the Amiri Diwan. Following the meeting, Minister of Justice and Acting Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs H E Dr. Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi issued the statement.
At the outset of the meeting, the Cabinet was briefed by H E Minister of Public Health on the latest developments in the efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The Cabinet stressed on the importance of precautionary measures in combating the epidemic.
In line with the directives of H E the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior regarding the cabinet’s plans to present key performance indicators for the different public organizations and institutions in line with Qatar National Vision 2030, including public private partnerships, H E Minister of Education and Higher Education presented the ministry’s strategic plan for 2018 to 2022.
The main goal of the ministry will be to oversee a world-class education system that provides fair opportunities to access high-quality education, and provides students with the necessary skills to reach their potential and achieve their ambitions, while reinforcing the values of the Qatari society and promoting the value of tolerance and respecting other cultures.
The specific objectives of the Ministry includes increasing the enrolment rate of children aged 4-5 years in early childhood education programmes in kindergarten and pre-school, raising the enrolment of high school students in science and engineering majors (STEM) or the scientific track in public or private schools that follow the national curriculum. It will also increase the enrolment rate of students with disabilities aged 4-18 years in the general education system, reduce the percentage of dropouts from education at all educational levels and raise the absorptive capacity of students enrolment in government and private education stages to meet current and expected needs. The Ministry also aims at increasing the percentage of children who pass the school readiness assessment criteria before entering the first grade of primary school, improving students performance in national examinations for third, sixth and ninth grades to achieve 70% of the grade or higher and raising the percentage of students in 12th grade in public schools in the fields of science and engineering, or in the scientific track, who achieve 70% in the secondary certificate.
The Ministry also aims at increasing the percentage of early childhood teachers who have appropriate and recognised teaching qualifications, raising the average number of approved official training hours for kindergarten and government school teachers and increasing the percentage of teachers in government schools who have professional licenses and increasing the percentage of Qataris and residents enrolled in the teaching profession from graduates of the College of Education at Qatar University in the teaching profession. The objectives of the Ministry are raising the level of satisfaction of the parents of students in kindergartens and schools, public and private, with regard to the concepts of the values and heritage of the Qatari society that their children receive, development of a comprehensive central database for education and training and increase the percentage of electronic services provided by the Ministry to the beneficiaries.
Then, the Cabinet considered the topics on the agenda as follows:
First — Approval of a draft decision of the Minister of Interior to determine the equipment, devices and materials for civil defense.
Second — Approval of a draft decision of the Minister of Commerce and Industry to adopt an international technical regulation as a Qatari technical regulation.
Third — Approval of a draft decision of the Minister of Commerce and Industry to adopt international standards as Qatari standards. The preparation of the two draft decisions comes within the framework of developing national standards system, keeping pace with successive developments in the field of specifications at the international level, meeting the needs of national factories, and improving the quality of goods.
Fourth — the Cabinet reviewed the following issues and took the appropriate decisions in their regard: 1- A letter of HE the Minister of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs regarding a report on the National Employment Platform (Kawader). 2- A draft decision of the Minister of Municipality and Environment on amending some provisions of Resolution no. 37 of 2010 regarding the preservation of turtles and seabirds from extinction. 3- A draft decision of the Minister of Municipality and Environment regarding the ban on hunting seagulls.
SOURCE: THEPENINSULAQATAR