The Ministry of Education and Higher Education declared that 1,500 scholarship places are anticipated under the new government plan for the academic years 2024–2025, up from 700 seats in the previous year. In order to satisfy the demands of the Qatari labour market in both the public and commercial sectors, the ministry increased the number of education tracks from three to eight.
Government scholarships were previously awarded based on the general classification of universities; however, in order to guarantee the calibre of the programme outcomes following the conclusion of this journey at the university level, they are currently shifting towards private classification based on tracks, specialisations, and fields.
Additionally included are the tracks for the creative economy, vocational training, and sports.
Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Higher Education Affairs at the Ministry of Education disclosed that between 60 and 100 percent of Qatari students are eligible for government scholarships regarding the chances offered by the policy. The selection criteria had previously placed a strong emphasis on academic accomplishment.
In order to mitigate the rising cost of living and inflation in the majority of the host countries and prevent financial strain, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has also reviewed and enhanced the financial benefits for scholarship recipients. The minimum external scholarship is QAR 14,000, plus pre-departure expenses and an annual ticket to the host nation. The benefits to encourage and support these specialisations will be especially larger for students studying medicine.
Dr. Al Jabri revealed that in order to entice students to enrol and study at these esteemed universities, the Amiri scholarships for the top 24 universities globally will provide a monthly stipend of QAR 20,000 in addition to being counted as years of service and the distribution of two business class tickets.
Around 550 universities, including those covered by the Amiri scholarship programme, are among the ones to which the ministry hopes to provide scholarships.
Dr. Al Jabri emphasised that the ministry permits Qatari students to study in non-English speaking nations, such as Japan, China, South Korea, Spain, and Germany, and that the number of Qatari students studying in these nations is rising yearly. He emphasised the need for self-funded students to get ministry clearance in advance of enrolling in diploma, bachelor's, master's, and doctorate programmes before travelling overseas to study.
The ministry aims to strike a balance between promoting intellectual pursuits and guaranteeing that students graduate from accredited colleges with legitimate degrees. Therefore, in order to expedite this and guarantee that the selected universities are among the recognised schools, the ministry has put in place a simple approval procedure.
