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The State of Qatar juts out into the Arabian/Persian Gulf from the Arabian Peninsula, a peninsula itself protruding from Arabia into the Gulf, comprising 11,437 square kilometers (4,416 square miles) of low lying land surrounded by a number of reefs and small islands. The main cities in Qatar are the capital city of Doha, the industrial city of Misaiaeed, and the smaller cities of Al Khor, Al Wakr…
The Constitution of the State of Qatar assures citizens of social welfare provisions made possible through the oil revenues generated since oil exports began. All Qatari nationals are entitled to free education in the state's comprehensive schooling system that began with the first primary schools in the early 1950s. Equal rights for and obligations of citizens are outlined in the constitut…
Education is free in Qatar. Students in government schools are provided books and transportation to and from schools. The 12-year public school system consists of a six-year primary cycle followed by a three-year secondary cycle and then a three-year tertiary cycle, taking students up through the secondary level by Western educational standards. Education in Qatar has benefited greatly from oil r…
From having only a few Quranic schools for boys in the early 1900s, Qatar's system of education has evolved into the comprehensive educational infrastructure that exists today. Both private and government schools offer preschool and primary education. At the primary level, there are around 160 schools in operation, following the Qatari educational curricula, or in the case of private school…
The secondary level of education in Qatar comprises—according to the national education classification system—the secondary and tertiary cycles, taking students up to the age of 18, equivalent to the completion of secondary education by Western standards. Both the secondary and tertiary cycles are three years in length, and by the time students complete these cycles they are ready fo…
The University of Qatar is the main institution of higher education in Qatar today. With the establishment of the College of Education in 1973 the foundation was laid for the official opening of the University of Qatar in 1977. At that time, there were four colleges: the College of Education, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the College of Science, and the College of Shari'a a…
Established in 1956, Qatar's Ministry of Education is responsible for overseeing the national education system. Since the formation of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in 1981, the ministry has worked toward coordinating its educational agenda with that of other GCC states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates). At the end of the 1990s, the emphasis was on educat…
There are a number of schools in Qatar catering to children with special needs and offering services to the handicapped and mentally impaired. This type of special education began in 1974 with the establishment of a governmental Special Education Section. Additionally, the Ministry of Education operates special needs schools for the deaf and blind, for example, the Shafallah Center, which opened i…
The teaching profession in Qatar, as in other Arab Gulf states, is one characterized by large proportions of foreign teachers. The dominance of women in education, and their exclusion from areas such as engineering and administration, is also characteristic of the traditional religious restrictions placed upon women—although changes are underway. In 1992-1993 the number of women studying in…
There have been some positive indications suggesting that education in Qatar will continue to develop at an accelerated pace enabled through the prosperity brought on by petroleum and natural gas revenues. But with the
prosperity has also come a set of new challenges. A government in the position of benevolent provider of welfare services is in the precarious position of ensuring a level of…
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