Officials of Olive International School (seated) introduce some of their teachers and staff members.
By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter
A new Indian school is set to welcome its first batch of students on September 7 on its two campuses in Doha’s Nuaija and Abu Hamour areas following the Supreme Education Council (SEC)’s final approval of its permit recently.
Olive International School promoter Juttas Paul told a press conference yesterday that the institution will initially accommodate 232 students for the primary and 112 for the kindergarten section.
Students from Grade 1 to 3 will attend classes at Nuaija while kindergarten 1 and 2 will go to Abu Hamour, located behind the Primary Health Centre.
Paul noted that the opening of a new school in Doha such as Olive will help reduce the increasing strain on Qatar’s education system. A number of other private and kindergarten schools are also expected to open next month.
“In the future, we are planning to expand so as to accommodate around 3,000 students. We are discussing this with a few partners who will help us in this initiative,” said Paul, who was joined by the school’s chairman, Davis Edakulathur, and principal A J George.
The school, which follows the Indian Central Board of Secondary Education curriculum, has 12 classrooms, a library, computer lab, language labs and a play area for various physical and sport activities.
Paul said they have 15 teachers and a number of staff members initially, and plan to hire more in the coming years. Tuition fee is QR8,700 a year (QR870 per month, for 10 months).
Asked why they have to open two campuses, he said the school needs a minimum land space of 4,500sqm to comply with SEC requirements. “In this area (Nuaija), we don’t have that much space.”
Prior to getting the final approval of the permits, Paul noted that some of the challenges they faced included looking for a suitable location and dealing with the cost of running the school, especially the rent.
However, he lauded the help and support extended by the SEC and ministries in giving timely advice and permissions to complete the needed requirements.
“It is very difficult for us to run a school if you look at it from a business perspective,” he told Gulf Times.
Paul said they also partnered with known international brands for sports education, public speaking and dramatics, psycho-education services, curriculum partners and educational consultants to give students holistic development and academic excellence along with value-oriented education.
The school is part of the famous International Educational Institutions managed by the Patricians, which have more than 200 years of experience in operating schools across the globe.
HE the Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Mohamed Abdulwahid Ali al-Hammadi, who is also the SEC’s secretary-general, had earlier said that opening of new schools and expanding the capacity of existing ones is the only solution to tide over the problem of lack of private school options in Qatar.
Many of the Indian and Philippine schools in Qatar have stopped accepting fresh admissions for the next academic year to limit the number of students in each class.
HE Dr al-Hammadi noted this was a requirement of the General Directorate of Civil Defence to ensure children’s safety.