Schools have reopened on 25th December, 2022, for the beginning of second semester of 2022-23 academic year. After a month-long vacation, over 350,000 students are expected to return to more than 500 public and private schools operating in the country. The schools have made necessary preparations to receive students in a healthy environment and provide all necessary facilities to improve the performance of students following directives by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
Schools have also shared schedules of classes with parents, asking them to ensure the attendance of their children from day one of second semester. School hours for government primary schools are from 7am to 12:45pm — except on Thursdays when it will be until 12:30pm.
“Adhere to the school uniform, ensuring personal hygiene (clean clothes, cutting hair and nails). Ensure that there is no absence except with an acceptable excuse, as the school administration will implement the absence policy approved by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education,” said the primary school in the text message.
The school also asked the parents to provide a healthy meal to the student from home and also informed them that school canteen will be open, offering meals to those who want to. Timings for preparatory and secondary government schools (from class 7 to 12) will be from 7am to 1:25pm and 7am to 12:30pm on Thursdays.
For any inquiry, suggestion, or assistance, parents can reach out to the Ministry through its communication channels — hotline No. 155, telephone No. 44044444, email infor@edu.gov.qa or WhatsApp: 60020020.
According to the Ministry, the number of public schools exceeded 207 plus 68 kindergartens in 2019-20 academic year, serving more than 124,600 Qatari and non-Qatari students.
All public schools in Qatar are committed to teaching basic and integrated curricula —mathematics and science, Arabic and English languages, Qatari history and Islamic education.
Qatar also offers specialised programmes and curricula, such as science, technology and business to name a few. The public sector also provides a variety of specialised educational services for students with special needs as well as gifted and talented students.
Qatar has also specialised schools for those with special needs, those with special talent and those who are interested in a specialised focus and curriculum.
Private schools operating in Qatar are licensed by the Ministry and are an alternative to the K-12 public schools. In the 2019-20 academic year, there were more than 332 private schools serving approximately 211,000 students.
Private schools offer a wide variety of curricula, philosophies, and activities that meet the needs of individual students and their families.
The Ministry requires all private schools to teach in their curricula Arabic language, Islamic studies and Qatari history.
There are also international schools such as the American, British, French, and German schools; community schools serving different nationalities; and Qatari schools such as the Qatar Academia Arabic schools.
