Registration for the next school year (2018-2019) at private schools will be open from March 1 to October 18, 2018 but those who come from outside the country can seek admission until January 31 next year, a senior official has said.

Hamad al-Ghani al-Merri, Director of the Private Schools Licensing Department at the Education Ministry, said there is a three month grace period for meeting the age requirement for registration for the upcoming academic year for all the students in Qatar. "Registration would not be limited for births of up to September 30 and would be extended for those born up to December 31."

He told local Arabic daily Arrayah that schools may collect a seat reservation fee starting from March 1 until May 1, 2018. Any school that collects such fees before of after these dates would be violating rules.

The official said his department has received 44 applications to open new private schools and kindergartens in the country and the applicants have been given time until June 30, 2018 to fulfill the formalities.

Regarding the rules that govern fee hikes, he said private schools can notify parents that they have applied for an increase at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. "Such a step would help parents to take a decision whether to continue with the same school or not."

Hamad al-Merri said while notifying the parents about a potential fee hike is acceptable, it is considered a violation to collect any fees before the raise is approved by the Ministry of Education. Such schools would be penalised , he said.

He stressed private schools' applications for fee hike are subject to the evaluation of a specialised committee and they pass through various phases before they are approved or rejected.

According to him, there are some private schools that really incur financial losses as they do not own buildings and the Ministry is keen to let such schools continue operation and enable them to offer their services to the people in the country.

"We study the reasons behind the schools' financial losses. However, if these losses were due to mismanagement, their applications for hikes would be rejected," he said, indicating that the guidelines for approving school fee hike have not been changed and they are the same as announced in November 2017.

Al-Merri stressed that the schools that do not abide by the laws and regulations of the Ministry might be deprived of their licence after due warnings .

The Ministry is keen to guarantee excellent services for the students, he pointed out.

Regarding the hiring of teachers in private schools, al-Marri said schools seek the department's permission for recruitment by presenting the candidates' certificates , which are reviewed according to the accredited standards.

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