DOHA: All private schools in Qatar including kindergartens using portacabins as classes have been asked by the Supreme Education Council (SEC) to replace such structures with permanent concrete buildings in two years' time.
The specifications about school buildings are part of a set of new standards laid down by the SEC for all private schools in the country.
The school building "must be made of cement and not wooden material in keeping with the requirements of the Civil Defense Department," according to guidelines issued by the SEC to private schools.
The SEC has made it mandatory for new schools seeking a licence to have purpose-built premises, while the existing schools that are using portacabins as classes have been asked to do away with such structures within the given time frame.
The SEC move apparently targets a number of private and community schools here that have put up portacabins in their premises in the absence of permanent buildings. Even small children have been accommodated in such structures that lack the necessary safety and health requirements.
Enquiries with some private schools yesterday revealed that they were planning to move into new premises in the next two years having been given an ultimatum by the SEC. The SEC standards regarding school buildings also specify that the school must be located in a good and safe neighbourhood, away from noise, shops and industrial and commercial units. A safe drinking area must be provided for students away from public toilets and one cooler must cater for a maximum of 50 students. The school must have playgrounds.
The school/KG building must have natural gardens, play area must be made of non-metallic objects and must be up to standards to ensure safety of students in addition to it being regularly maintained.
Effective from the 2009/2010 academic year, all Arabic schools and kindergartens must provide evidence that they apply either national or accredited curriculum standards.
All international schools must provide evidence that they are applying an accredited international curriculum -- official supporting documents must be submitted within three months from the date of the resolution.
All international schools must commit to teaching Arabic, Islamic studies and Qatari history beginning with the 2010/2011 school year as stated in Article 2 of the ministerial decision (No. 2 of 2009).
According to Article 3 of the ministerial decision and as stated in Law No. 7 of 1980, the SEC has the right to take legal action against schools failing to meet the standards and requirements.
"The SEC along with its institutes is keen on assisting private education in Qatar," Sabah Al Haidoos, director of the Education Institute at SCH said in a statement.
"Private schools have been given a period of two years to adopt the national curriculum standards set up by the SEC to ensure that the system is aligned," added Sabah Al Haidoos. Fauziya Al Khater, the private schools director, said it was important for all schools to start preparations to meet the requirements as stated in the ministerial decision.
The SEC will follow up on the schools and check the progress in developmental plans for schools.
She added that the private schools office at SEC had been monitoring private schools and had recorded several irregularities during the current academic year, acting on complaints from parents. SEC has also urged all schools under its umbrella to teach Islamic studies as a basic subject "as it represents the corner stone for building the national and spiritual identity of the students."
Considering the large Muslim population in international schools the Arabic language should be applied to maintain the Arabic, religious, and cultural identities.
Effective the next academic year, all such schools will be obliged to teach Qatari history.
The Education Institute will allow these schools to use semi-independent schools' social studies books due to the short timeline since the decision for teaching social studies was taken, said the statement.
© The Peninsula 2010
