Qatar - Education

Education

In recent years, Qatar has placed great emphasis on education. Citizens are required to attend government-provided education from kindergarten through high school. Qatar University was founded in 1973. More recently, with the support of the Qatar Foundation, a number of leading US universities have opened branch campuses in the Education City. These include

• Carnegie Mellon University
• Cornell University’s Weill Cornell Medical College
• Georgetown University School of Foreign Service
• Houston Community College System
• Northwestern University
• Texas A&M University
• Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts

In 2008, Qatar established the Qatar Science & Technology Park at Education City to link those universities with industry. Education City is also home to a fully accredited International Baccalaureate school, Qatar Academy. Two Canadian institutions, the College of the North Atlantic and the University of Calgary, also operate campuses in Doha. Other for-profit universities have also established campuses in the city.

In 2009, Qatar Foundation launched a non-profit radio station, QF Radio 93.7 FM, which offers a streaming online service providing regular programs about education, science, community development, and the arts in Qatar to a global online audience. It also broadcasts to Doha, Qatar, on 93.7 FM. The program is produced as 70% in Arabic and 30% in English.

In 2009, the Qatar Foundation launched the World Innovation Summit for Education – WISE – a global forum that brought together education stakeholders, opinion leaders, and decision makers from all over the world to discuss educational issues. The first edition was held in Doha from 16 to 18 November 2009, the second from 7 to 9 December 2010. The third edition will be held from 1 to 3 November 2011.

Moreover, in 2007, the American Brookings Institution announced that it was opening the Brookings Doha Center to undertake research and programming on the socioeconomic and geopolitical issues facing the region.

In November 2002, the Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani created the Supreme Education Council. The Council directs and controls education for all ages from the pre-school level through the university level, including the “Education for a New Era” reform initiative.

The Emir’s second wife, Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, has been instrumental in new education initiatives in Qatar. She chairs the Qatar Foundation, sits on the board of Qatar’s Supreme Education Council, and is a major driving force behind the importation of Western expertise into the education system, particularly at the college level. In addition, The Qatar Foundation has supported the implementation of Arabic language programs in American public schools through the establishment of Qatar Foundation International, a U.S.‑based non-profit dedicated to connecting the culture of American and Qatari students.

There are currently a total of 567 schools in operation within Qatar, both in the public and the private sector. A large number of new schools are also under construction, particularly public schools, in order to meet increased demand which arose as a result of the large increase in population that the country has seen of late. There are nine universities in the country, serving 12,480 students.