By Sanaullah Ataullah
DOHA: Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani patronised the opening ceremony of Gulf Studies Forum, organised by Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies yesterday.
Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Dr Mohammed Abdul Wahed Ali Al Hammadi underlined the need for legislations to encourage the private sector to play a bigger role in providing higher education.
Private institutions providing higher education can offer more diversified educational opportunities and help achieve more flexibility to meet the needs of the job market, the Minister said.
So it might be useful to issue legislations to encourage the private sector to increase its contribution to school and university education, he said. Qatar has made remarkable achievements in Global Competitiveness Report 2015-16, as it ranked first in Arab countries and 14th in the World.
In terms of quality of primary education, Qatar secured first position among Arab countries and ninth in the world.
However, it ranked first among Arab counties and fifth in the world in terms of the quality secondary school education. In terms of providing Internet services for schools, Qatar has also secured first position in the Arab world and 19th in the world, said the Minister.
Education is on top of the development agenda of the GCC countries and the education sector has more challenges. The GCC governments have been working hard to provide education to their people from the very beginning.
The GCC countries have introduced new educational programmes. They have entered into partnerships with the private sector to increase investments in the education sector as they believe that education is a pre-requisite for development. The GCC states have made remarkable achievements in improving the quality of education and meeting the needs in terms of quantity as well (a reference to opening more schools, colleges and universities) that has helped reduce the gap between supply and demand dynamics in the job market. But challenges remain with regard to education in countries in the rest of the world, said the Minister.
The Peninsula
