A senior official of Qatar University has recommended the establishment of more universities in the private sector.
He also called for providing a quota at the existing universities for expatriate students as well as starting more disciplines in universities to meet the growing demand for higher education in Qatar.
He also called for providing a quota at the existing universities for expatriate students as well as starting more disciplines in universities to meet the growing demand for higher education in Qatar.
“More affordable universities need to be set up in the private sector under the Ministry of Education and Higher Education so that more expatriate students can pursue higher education staying with their families,” said Dr. Khalid al-Khater, vice president for administration and financial affairs of Qatar University at a forum organised by Doha International Centre for Interfaith Dialogue ( DICID) on Saturday.
The 7th roundtable by DICID discussed the topic “Education of Expat Children: Challenges and Opportunities” which was attended by a number of officials from the government and private education sector.
Opening the forum, Prof. Ibrahim bin Saleh al-Naimi, chairman of DICID said, “The forum is an occasion to explore the opportunities for primary education and higher education for expatriate students. It also focuses on children with special needs. The whole aim of the discussion is to look for a comprehensive education system for nationals as well as expatriates.”
Archbishop Makarios, president of the Christian Churches Steering Committee who delivered a keynote address at the forum, said that education, especially primary education is the right of a child.
“Now, there are two types of education. One is the conventional method of text book and class room education and the second one is the technology driven one comprising Internet and the Social Media. Modern education should not allow the children to live in a closed world but develop and build cultural dialogue and lead to an education based on the students’ knowledge of culture and religion,” he stressed.
Dr. al-Khater said, “The population of the country is growing very fast and there are only limited number of seats at higher education institutes for expatriate students as the number of universities in the country is limited. Therefore the best way to overcome this is to open new universities in the private sector. Countries like India have a large number of reputable universities in this regard.
“These universities must be accredited ones and should work under the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Moreover, high cost of education is another problem for the expatriates. Therefore, the new universities must have reasonable tuition fees and other costs as it will help higher education more affordable for the expatriate parents. The UAE as well as Bahrain have a number of private universities,” he felt.
Dr. al-Khater also suggested that the existing universities in the country may set apart a quota for expatriate students.“The current universities can offer a reasonable quota for expatriate students. They can also start more disciplines so that more students can be accommodated enabling more expatriate students to continue their studies in the country. Moreover several diploma courses can be turned into undergraduate programmes,” he maintained.
The forum also discussed the need for providing educational and rehabilitation services for individuals with special needs. The other topics addressed during the forum included high fees in foreign and private schools, and insufficient school seats for some communities.
The 7th roundtable by DICID discussed the topic “Education of Expat Children: Challenges and Opportunities” which was attended by a number of officials from the government and private education sector.
Opening the forum, Prof. Ibrahim bin Saleh al-Naimi, chairman of DICID said, “The forum is an occasion to explore the opportunities for primary education and higher education for expatriate students. It also focuses on children with special needs. The whole aim of the discussion is to look for a comprehensive education system for nationals as well as expatriates.”
Archbishop Makarios, president of the Christian Churches Steering Committee who delivered a keynote address at the forum, said that education, especially primary education is the right of a child.
“Now, there are two types of education. One is the conventional method of text book and class room education and the second one is the technology driven one comprising Internet and the Social Media. Modern education should not allow the children to live in a closed world but develop and build cultural dialogue and lead to an education based on the students’ knowledge of culture and religion,” he stressed.
Dr. al-Khater said, “The population of the country is growing very fast and there are only limited number of seats at higher education institutes for expatriate students as the number of universities in the country is limited. Therefore the best way to overcome this is to open new universities in the private sector. Countries like India have a large number of reputable universities in this regard.
“These universities must be accredited ones and should work under the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Moreover, high cost of education is another problem for the expatriates. Therefore, the new universities must have reasonable tuition fees and other costs as it will help higher education more affordable for the expatriate parents. The UAE as well as Bahrain have a number of private universities,” he felt.
Dr. al-Khater also suggested that the existing universities in the country may set apart a quota for expatriate students.“The current universities can offer a reasonable quota for expatriate students. They can also start more disciplines so that more students can be accommodated enabling more expatriate students to continue their studies in the country. Moreover several diploma courses can be turned into undergraduate programmes,” he maintained.
The forum also discussed the need for providing educational and rehabilitation services for individuals with special needs. The other topics addressed during the forum included high fees in foreign and private schools, and insufficient school seats for some communities.
