The General Authority of Customs (GAC) has renewed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Community College Qatar (CCQ) in order to continue the Bachelor of Border Management programme for GAC employees in co-operation with Centre for Customs and Excise Studies at the Charles Sturt University (CSU), Australia. 
This is in order to raise the academic standards of customs professionals and the profession with a strong commitment to world-class customs education and best practices.
The agreement was signed by CCQ president Dr Mohamed al-Naemi and GAC chairman Ahmed Abdullah al-Jamal. The MoU states that the programme will get academic accreditation from the World Customs Organisation and conform to its rules, official Qatar News Agency reported. 
Under this agreement, CCQ also guarantees the application of the highest professional standards in teaching as well as selecting advanced scientific, academic, technical and training programmes to qualify and develop Qatari youth. The GAC will nominate qualified personnel for joining the BA programme if they have already passed the Associate of Applied Sciences in Customs Management from CCQ.
Dr al-Naemi, expressed his pleasure in continuing the co-operation with GAC in this field. Al-Jamal noted that the GAC was the first in the Middle East to take such a step to enhance the academic side of its staff and contribute towards developing their professional performance and scientific competency. “Taking the degree will complement the experience our staff gained during their job at GAC, which will have a positive impact on customs performance in Qatar,” he said. CCQ will execute the programme in the Spring Semester of 2021 to accommodate 40 students who have to complete 128 credit hours to pass the BA degree. 
The programme consists of eight specialised subjects that cover theoretical and field aspects in order to help students develop a deep understanding of the working mechanisms in ports and border management.
Renewing the MoU with GAC comes after the inaugural batch of BA in Border Management graduated in the Spring Semester of 2020; the number of graduates reached 40. The programme is certified and licensed by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. The study will be remote, in accordance with the Covid-19 precautionary measures followed in the country, with the possibility to amend the study mechanism from the Spring Semester of 2022.