Minister of Education and Higher Education: Plans to Upgrade Student Support Mechanisms

Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi

HE Minister of Education and Higher Education Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi said Monday that new student support mechanisms would be introduced during the academic year 2023-2024 to further empower school principals in decision-making process and make schools better attractive environments for students and teachers.

Speaking at the inauguration of the annual educational forum, Her Excellency said the Ministry started intensive work to develop comprehensive policies related to the quality of student life including their physical and psychological safety, social participation, and empowering students with disabilities and providing further communication with parents to participate in their children's learning.

Her Excellency hailed the forum that celebrates the new academic year as a step towards the State of Qatar's aspirations to achieve successful educational system outputs.

Her Excellency added that the success of Qatar's educational system is reflected in its excellent outputs - integrated and balanced personalities with good behavior, knowledge and skills that qualify students to be good citizens through adhering to values, preserving national identity, and participating in achieving sustainable development goals for their country and the world.

Her Excellency added that this educational meeting comes after the Ministry successfully accomplished many of its goals, highlighting this year's goals amid the continuous evaluation of its strategy, and in response to the observations and suggestions of school principals, teachers and specialists.

The Ministry has committed itself to developing plans to transform the teaching profession into an attractive career path, Her Excellency said, highlighting that the most important improvements and plans are based on strengthening the teachers status, advancing the teaching profession, and developing a national framework for the teaching profession that includes professional standards and regulations of the teaching licenses. This can be achieved through quality training programs for public schools teachers and appropriate training opportunities for private school teachers, Her Excellency noted.

Her Excellency announced the launch of a training program to boost teachers' experiences in line with Qatar National Vision 2030, which is based on investing in the human capital. The program offers Qatari public school teachers training in educationally advanced countries through classroom coexistence lessons in different learning environments with their peers in those countries, a move designed to enhance Qatari teachers' professional growth and open up horizons for them to learn.

Her Excellency highlighted the Ministry's strategic initiatives that go beyond the academic scope to further comprehensive education to contribute to the renaissance of generations, highlighting new specific programs to improve the level of services provided to kindergartens, expand nursery homes, and increase community awareness of the early education stage. She also highlighted projects that develop curricula to master foundational and future skills that keep pace with modern technology and digital education achievements.

Her Excellency extended thanks to all educational system employees for their sincere efforts in the last academic year and welcoming the newly joined administrative and academic cadres.

At the opening session of the annual educational meeting, Ibrahim Al Khulaifi, who is a Professor of Psychology from Kuwait, talked about professional relations in educational institutions and their role in improving educational outcomes.

In this context, he discussed efforts to control quality, national and international accreditation, the importance of consolidating national identity, and striving to adopt specific standards for that, including a code of honor in both the Arabic and English languages that includes ethical standards to be established in the educational community.

Al Khulaifi stressed the need to transform the school atmosphere into a vibrant corporate culture, pointing out many professional projects to improve learning outcomes and other effective professional behaviors, with the availability of joint activities between the elements of the school team and the importance of the ability of its members to have a fruitful dialogue.

He commended the 'Rasekh' initiative, which is one of Qatar Foundation's initiatives, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE), describing it as a rooting of values and a model for that we seek.

It is noteworthy that the objectives of this initiative are to provide a generation of students in all stages of basic education with the knowledge that enables them to be citizens rooted in their local roots, and connected globally at the same time, by providing high-quality education with a local vision.

In an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), Director of the Training and Development Center at the Ministry Iman Salman Al Mohannadi stressed the importance of the educational meeting held by the ministry for the second year in a row at the beginning of each new academic year, during which the ministry meets with school leaders, teachers, those responsible for the educational process, and students' parents/guardians, to exchange ideas and opinions and inform them of the strategic directions of the ministry.

Al Mohannadi considered the meeting as one of the new initiatives of MOEHE, pointing out that the basis for it is dialogue and participation, and it includes virtual training workshops for teachers in all their specialties, and others related to special education and early education, in addition to two-day training workshops for administrators, and programs for government school leaders, academic representatives, administrative representatives, and kindergarten affairs representatives. All of these focus on institutional culture, work ethics and values, sustainable development in schools, vocational paths, career advancement and the preparation of school counsellors, she added.

In regard to the center's training programs and priorities, Al Mohannadi said that the focus this year will be on the basic programs through which the teachers become qualified to obtain a professional license, in addition to modern programs in accordance with global trends such as artificial intelligence (AI), future thinking skills, and other specialized programs according to the needs of the target groups.

On the first day of the educational meeting, the attendees watched a film about MOEHE's achievements during the past academic year, and a speech delivered by Ambassador of QatarDebate Center Moza Al Hajri, during which she talked about her educational journey and the importance of embodying the values of perseverance and diligence to build the country. Al Hajri wished everyone a successful academic year towards a better future.

It is noteworthy that the organization of the educational meeting comes within the framework of the ministry's continuous efforts, as it seeks to develop the leadership and specialized skills of all its employees, especially the academic and administrative cadres in schools, through training and professional development, which enables them to develop their performance and enhance their abilities to anticipate challenges and contribute effectively to achieving goals related to their profession duties.

(QNA)