Too many students, too few schools
Qatar's increasing expat population has increased a demand for private schools, leading to long waiting lists for enrolment and a barely any space for current students in many existing schools.
The situation has forced some community schools to stop enrolment even before they started it, while others are exploring the possibility of expansion to meet an expected rush in the next academic year.
School sources say that the closure of several kindergartens in recent years and a ceiling imposed by the Supreme Education Council (SEC) on the number of students allowed in a classroom have boosted demand and, at the same time, reduced the capacity of schools to accommodate more students.
According to data released by the SEC, there are 130 private schools in Qatar and 70 private kindergartens.
The nearly a dozen Indian schools that accommodate the largest number of students are perhaps worst hit by the space crunch.
The problem is apparently not so severe for Pakistani schools, apparently due to the relatively low number of Pakistani expatriates in the country.
Several parents complain that uncertainty about securing a place in a school is costing them heavily. They apply to several schools and most of them put their children on a waiting list.
An application form at the international schools cost between QR200 and QR500.
Thoughts?
Source: The Peninsula | Photo: .:shk:. in the QL FLickr Group
Schooling and Family housing is one item which should be highlighted to every expat with a family before they consider coming to Qatar. Limiting numbers is good for the qaulity of education, but the fees continue to rise. Teaching professionals move regularly. Ethics and method of teaching vary dramatically from one teacher to another, and more so from school to school. Travel time between schools can be excessive.
And also additional problem was wen Government announced that schools to take limited children only...
The SEC may be reading too much Oscar Wilde:
“I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever.”
I Was Born Intelligent, But Education Ruined Me
Just building schools is not the answer. The schools must provide good quality education at reasonable price.
In regard to above mentioned post