Qatar Charity (QC) has said it is continuing with the construction of Al-Shaimaa Secondary School for Girls in Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip, in co-operation with the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

The project comes as part of its efforts to reduce overcrowding at schools in the region due to the inability to build new schools, QC has said in a statement.

The project is being implemented with support and financing from Qatar Cyclists and a number of Qatari companies at a cost of QR5.4mn. The school is expected to benefit more than 1,920 students living in a remote area with a population of more than 80,000 people. All necessary construction and furnishing works are expected to be completed before September, QC has said.

Mohamed Abu Haloub, director of QC’s office in the Gaza Strip, said one of the objectives of the project is to provide secondary education to students in the north of Beit Lahia and its surrounding areas in the northern Gaza Strip, which lack educational facilities. The project is also aimed at creating a healthy and educational environment suitable for female students.

Abu Haloub noted that the school project includes the provision of scientific laboratories, a computer lab, an appropriate library and other essential facilities and supplies necessary for the success of the educational process.

Spread over an area of 5,000sqm, the school will have 36 rooms, of which 24 will be classrooms and the rest will be used as laboratories and management rooms, Abu Haloub added.

He also pointed out that Gaza needs to build 30 new schools because of the increase in the number of students. He extended his sincere thanks to people in Qatar for their support in building the school for girls, which gives a clear indication of the good relationship between the people of Qatar and Palestine.

As education is one of the most important areas of the work for Qatar Charity, during the last few years, it has implemented several projects for schools and universities in the Gaza Strip. QC interventions included the construction of new schools, the expansion, maintenance and restoration of damaged schools, providing schools with solar energy and equipping scientific laboratories in dozens of schools and universities. This amounted to more than $14.5mn since 2010.

QC has already implemented the construction of the Kamal Al-Ahoud Primary School in the northern Gaza Strip, in addition to providing the public schools in Gaza with scientific laboratories. Another project was implemented to provide alternative energy in about 60 schools in view of power outages in the Gaza Strip.

Related Story