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Schools in Qatar
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idaho_potato



Joined: 09 Feb 2012
Posts: 57

PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 2:59 pm    Post subject: COMPASS INTERNATIONAL Reply with quote

Compass is one of the newer schools which caters for Dutch employees of Shell. It is expanding quickly with a third campus about to open. The Gharaffa Campus, which is housed in a former palace, is experiencing problems with the management. The school principal is leaving at the end of the year. The manager, a very temperamental and difficult woman, is causing her staff a lot of grief. The school is more interested in making a profit than providing education. It charges the highest school fees in Qatar and wants to hire local teachers instead of expats to save money on housing, benefits etc. If you are offered a job with this educational corporation, ask not to be assigned the Gharaffa campus.
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idaho_potato



Joined: 09 Feb 2012
Posts: 57

PostPosted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Education Reform meet to attract over 400 delegates Wednesday, 21 March By Fazeena Saleem

DOHA: The Qatar University�s second annual conference on Education Reform will begin on Saturday to exchange national, regional and international ideas and best practices in creating learning communities that support educational reform efforts.The conference will be held under the theme �Towards Better Learning Communities� with over 400 local and international participants, said Dr Hissa Sadiq, Dean, College of Education at a press conference held at the Qatar University yesterday.

�The choice of this year�s theme reflects the College of Education�s belief that educational development process is a responsibility of all stakeholders in education. Therefore achieving this development goal is only possible through genuine partnership among various parties working in the working in the educational process,� said Dr Sadiq.

Students, faculty, education professionals, and teachers from independent schools, academic institutions, and government ministries will participate at the conference, including Non-profit organizations in Qatar such as the Family Counseling Center, Al Noor Institute, Qatar Foundation Learning Center and Qatar Center for Volunteers. Also a number of professionals from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Malaysia, Egypt, and Palestine are expected to participate the event.The two day conference with nine sessions and five workshops will feature keynote speech by Dr Marilyn Friend, Professor Emerita of Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro on �Better Together: Collaboration as the Foundation of Effective 21st Century Education.�

Also Professor Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad, President, QU will address the opening session on �Education Reform in the State of Qatar.� �A total of 80 papers have been received from across the Gulf and Middle East to be presented throughout the sessions of the conference,� said Dr Asma Al-Attiyah, Professor, Mental Health, College of Education and head of the second annual conference on Education Reform organising committee.

Also the conference will see two groups of students at the College of Education trained by the Qatar Debates will debate on �Qatar University as a Learning Community: a Student Perspective.� More than 60 students from colleges throughout Qatar University will attend the debate session. Signing of a strategic Memorandum of Understanding the College of Education and the Arab Educational Training Center for Gulf States will also feature at the conference. The MoU will aim at collaborative training efforts to reflect the spirit of building learning communities.Also an exhibition will feature various topics of research and other educational material and information from the participating students, faculty and institutions during the event.

The Peninsula



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landcruzer



Joined: 15 Apr 2012
Posts: 26

PostPosted: Fri May 04, 2012 12:42 pm    Post subject: Salary Misery for Teachers Reply with quote

Quote:
Only 42pc school teachers happy with salary: SEC data Friday, 04 May 2012 03:38



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DOHA: Only 42 percent of the school teachers in Qatar are happy with their salary, shows the just released annual statistical report of the Supreme Education Council (SEC).

The report has put the average annual expenses per child in school fees at QR10,910. An average 63 percent of the students are satisfied with the activities at their schools, while 74 percent of the parents are happy with the quality of the curriculum of their ward�s school. The percentage of students� absenteeism in all school is 16 percent while the percentage of students arriving late to school is 14 percent. The seventh �annual statistical report on schools and schooling in Qatar� provides data on many significant schooling aspects for the academic year 2010-2011. It covers a total 294 schools-Independent, semi-Independent, private, Arab, international and community schools � 16,309 teachers and 161,059 students.

An average 42 percent of the school teachers are satisfied with their salary, while 40 percent are dissatisfied, says the report. The average job experience of the teachers are 11.4 years. An average 70 percent of the teachers have a bachelors degree, 25 percent have a higher degree, while 5 percent have a lower degree. Five percent of the school principals have qualifications lower than a bachelors degree while 61 percent have a bachelors degree and 34 percent have a higher degree. A teacher spends an average 54.1 hours in a year on professional development.
The average age of teachers is 35 years and the average age of school principals is 45 years. 24 percent of the teachers are Qatari, 59 percent Arabs and 17 percent non Arabs. 45 percent of the students are Qatari, 27 percent Arabs and 28 percent non Arabs.

Students of the international schools spend more time on home works � weekly 2.3 hours on average � compared to private Arabic school students and Independent schools students. The average number of computers in a school is 135.3. The largest number of computers is in international schools with 160.8, followed by the Independent schools with 141.2, while the lowest is in Arab private schools with 31.9.

The average number of books in the school library per student is 11.3.
Dr Hamda Al Sulaiti, director of the Evaluation Institute at SEC which developed the report, said, �the report provides the educators and stakeholders with a detailed summary on Qatar�s schools, schools principles, students, parents and the latest data from the academic year 2010/2011. The report also provides significant comparisons for a selective set of aspects from the academic year 2008-2009 until 2010-2011.�

THE PENINSULA

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mesquite



Joined: 04 Jan 2009
Posts: 80

PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2012 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Are they ready ? Saturday, 21 April 2012

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/191531-are-they-ready-.html

Qatar embarked on an ambitious education reform programme in 2002-03 and began converting government schools into Independent Schools under �Education for a New Era� slogan

The idea was to overhaul the school education system and make it such that it would be able to equip students�mainly nationals�to easily pursue higher education.This, because Qatar�s long-term goal is to move from a carbon-based to a knowledge-based economy. The education system, therefore, must be able to prepare the present and coming generations of Qataris to take charge.Roughly a decade has elapsed since the reforms were introduced, but sadly, school education in the country remains to make the necessary leap to the New Era.

Many students passing out of Independent Schools, that impart education in Arabic, find it hard to qualify entrance tests for various degree courses in American university campuses in the Education City or at Qatar University.As a result, they must attend an Academic Bridge Program of a year�s duration run by Qatar Foundation to be able to successfully attempt an entrance test.And those wishing to pursue a degree course at Qatar University must attend a Foundation Program, also of a year�s duration, to pass the entrance test.The focus of both the above programs is to improve English language skills and the knowledge of science and mathematics of Qatari students, especially to enable them to write entrance tests successfully for degree courses in science streams. A number of them, however, fail to make it despite having attended the above �preparatory� courses. Some of them, however, manage to seek admissions to colleges and universities overseas, in the US, in particular.

Qatar University has recently done away with foundation programs for degree courses in streams such as law, Shariah, arts, business and economics and education, arguing that since these subjects will be taught in Arabic, students could be admitted directly.However, students applying for admission to other undergraduate streams at Qatar University are required to attend the foundation program.Qatar University has been sending confusing signals of late as its focus not too long ago was on English, but recently it has shifted its accent back on Arabic.In another development, the university has said it does not require students to have minimum scores in IELTS or TOEFL proficiency tests and a passing score of 70 percent in the foundation program could allow a student to be admitted to a degree course.IELTS stands for International English language Testing System, while the popular TOFEL stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language.

Unlike Qatar University, the universities in the Education City are quite clear about what they require of a student seeking admission to their undergraduate courses.First of all, all the courses at these universities are taught in English, so a student aspiring to get admitted to one of these institutions is required to have a very high level of proficiency in the English language.There are no minimum TOEFL or IELTS score requirements for admission to these universities, but students must obtain fairly high marks in these tests.Besides, universities such as Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar, Texas A & M-Qatar and Carnegie-Mellon-Qatar require high scores in SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) or ACT (American College Test) tests for admission.The problem with Qatari students passing out of Independent Schools is that they are taught mathematics and science subjects in Arabic, so they are not familiar with terminologies in English, and many of them struggle with such terminologies even after attending academic bridge or foundation programmes.

The pass percentages of these two preparatory, pre-university entrance courses have lately improved a bit, but the figures are not up to the mark, educationists rue.The saving grace, though, is that after a student has attended either of the above two courses and has failed to qualify entrance tests locally, he or she is at least able to get admission to some college overseas, mainly in the US, after taking tests like TOEFL, IELTS, SAT or ACT and obtaining minimum scores.Critics argue that after Qatar embarked on educational reforms in 2002-03, its school system should have been able to equip the Qatari student to pursue higher education, which is modern, in a rather easy way. This is not to suggest that Arabic should not have been accorded importance by these schools but the curriculum should have been developed in such a way that students were proficient in English as well and could be able to easily grasp subjects taught in that language in degree courses.The problem with the so-called new school education in Qatar, according to critics, is that while structural changes were made rather rapidly, schools ignored a key area � teachers� training.Little or no emphasis was put on training teachers in these schools and orienting them towards the new education system. The result was that the so-called reforms failed to bear the desired fruit.

Critics say the schools should have been such that there was no need for students to attend academic bridge or foundation programmes to seek admission to undergraduate courses in universities.Critics describe the issue as serious and argue that since Qatar is aiming for a knowledge-based economy over the long-term, drastically reducing its dependence on hydrocarbon income, it is education that holds the key to its future as it alone can prepare the present and future generations of Qataris to take charge.But considering what has been happening on the early education front in the country, Qatar might not be able to have a knowledge-based economy within the targeted timeframe unless drastic steps are taken to make the educational reform actually work, say critics.

The Peninsula
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mesquite



Joined: 04 Jan 2009
Posts: 80

PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2012 2:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Science terms in English please, schools told Thursday, 03 May 2012
DOHA: The Supreme Education Council has asked all Independent Schools to teach science and mathematics terminologies in English in primary classes, with Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in Secondary School.The office for independent schools at the Supreme Education Council in a circular has announced that science and mathematics terminologies should be taught in English from grade three.All Independent Schools should allocate two periods exclusively for teaching terminologies at each grade above three. Also non-Arabic speaking teachers qualified and experienced in teaching science and mathematics will be assigned to teach the subjects.

It has also instructed the schools to teach TOEFL and IELTS at Secondary Schools as a step in preparing students for higher education.This decision has been taken in the back drop of all universities in the country require students to meet high level of competencies English, mathematics and Science for admission.Qatar University (QU) in February this year unveiled the new structure of its Foundation Programme that does not require minimum scores in IELTS or TOEFL proficiency tests, though it requires a passing score of 70 percent in the Foundation Programme will allow students to enrol in their respective college or programme. In order to register for appropriate courses in the Foundation English and maths programme, all students must first take the online Accuplacer exam which is used to place students in the appropriate English and Math levels.

The Accuplacer exam is required for all students entering the Foundation Programme.Besides all courses at the Education City universities are taught in English.A very high level of English is needed in order to read the required course material, write the required exams and papers, make presentations, and engage in discussion and debate both in and out of the classroom.While there is no fixed minimum TOEFL or IELTS score for admission to these universities, the most competitive applicants will have scores of 100 or better on the Internet based TOEFL (600 or better on the paper-based TOEFL exam, 250 or better on the computer based TOEFL), and scores of 7.5 or better on the IELTS.
Thus, the Academic Bridge Program play a major role of coaching pre-university students in English, science and math courses, it focuses more on teaching the language terminology in English of these subjects and not so much on mastering new subject matter, since many Independent School students are unable to meet the high requirements of university education.

The Peninsula

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/192937-science-terms-in-english-please-schools-told.html


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blastermill



Joined: 30 Aug 2011
Posts: 101

PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2012 5:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks to all the Asian schools making constant complaints to the SEC, there will be little autonomy in the private sector. Already overload syllabi and private schools have to teach Qatari history (only 130 years really) and offer Arabic. Most schools will have to extend their hours to fit these classes in with the official curriculum of their respected school.



http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/195711-do-pvt-schools-make-the-grade.html
Quote:
Undeterred by the Supreme Education Council (SEC) rhetoric about disciplining private schools into becoming centres of quality learning, the managements of these institutions continue to behave like mercenaries.




http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/195710-disciplining-the-private-schools.html
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blastermill



Joined: 30 Aug 2011
Posts: 101

PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2012 5:21 pm    Post subject: Govt urged to build schools for expats Reply with quote

Govt urged to build schools for expats Saturday, 26 May 2012 05:44
BY MOHAMMAD SHOEB

DOHA: Qatari government needs to build quality and affordable schools for expatriates as private schools are expensive and do not have enough capacity to cater to the growing demand, experts at a �Qatar Real Estate Summit� said yesterday. Improving education and health care sectors to cater to a growing number of foreign workers is the need of the hour. Lack of enough affordable and quality schools may work as a deterrent for the calibred labour force choosing Qatar as a career destination, a senior official of the QInvest told The Peninsula on the sidelines of the summit.

�There are no public schools or government education facilities for the children of expatriates. The private schools do not have enough capacity and they are pretty expensive. This may deter the right calibred people coming to Qatar in future which may impact the process of development�, said Craig Cowie, Head of Real Estate Investment and Advisory at QInvest. He said that Qatar will have to improve its education sector. For that it needs to build larger, better and more sustainable schools to cater to the educational needs of the expatriates.

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/195702-govt-urged-to-build-schools-for-expats.html




Basically they mean expat Arabs so they can keep the independent schools for Qatari nationals.



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