Community College of Qatar (CCQ) has launched the second cohort of its Associate of Business Administration programme for students at the Ministry of Interior (MoI)’s penal and correctional institutions. Twenty new students begin their studies in Spring 2025–2026. The Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs supports the programme, which CCQ runs in collaboration with the Penal and Correctional Institutions Department at MoI.
The institutional partnership aims to give inmates access to university education and academic qualifications and to support their educational and career paths.
The second cohort follows the success of the programme’s first run, which began in Fall 2023. Six students graduated in Spring 2026 after completing the requirements for the Associate of Business Administration. They were the first students from penal and correctional institutions to graduate from the programme.
The programme’s continuation also reflects the support CCQ receives from its partners. The Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs sponsors the programme, and the Penal and Correctional Institutions Department at MoI provides the right environment for teaching to continue. Together, these partners have helped build a learning experience that allows students inside penal and correctional institutions to continue their university studies and earn an academic qualification, through a model designed around the nature of the correctional environment.
"The launch of the second cohort is an important step in the continuity of this academic programme, which combines education with rehabilitation and gives students in penal and correctional institutions the chance to continue their university education and earn an academic qualification,” said Dr Menahi al-Qahtani, head of the Management Department at CCQ, who oversees the programme. "The first cohort showed that the right educational pathway can deliver real results in supporting their future professional and personal growth.”
He added: "CCQ continues to work with the Penal and Correctional Institutions Department at the Ministry of Interior to offer a learning experience that meets CCQ’s academic standards while taking into account the environment in which the program is delivered. We rely on a blended learning model that combines in-person teaching with interactive online learning. We also see the programme’s continuation as an extension of the partnership between both sides and an opportunity to widen access to education and academic qualifications.”
The programme grew out of a series of meetings and discussions between CCQ and the Penal and Correctional Institutions Department. The two sides explored how to make university education available to inmates in a way that suits the nature of penal and correctional institutions.
Under the current model, faculty members travel to the institution to teach part of the course in person, while the remaining classes take place through live, interactive online learning.
The initiative reflects CCQ’s role in providing educational and qualification opportunities and building institutional partnerships that serve the community.