Jinoos Shariati
The Qatari education sector is embracing a digital evolution as schools adapt to a new normal amid the pandemic.
During the COVID-19 crisis, more than 1.7 billion students were affected globally, according to the World Bank. In the last year, Qatari teaching institutions have turned to education technology (edtech) to enable continuous learning amid coronavirus breakouts.
The Gulf overall has emerged as a fast-growing market for edtech companies, with global players citing an annual 500 percent increase in platform subscribers from the Middle East in 2020, according to the ‘Edtech – Entrée or Main Course?’ report from RedSeer Consulting.
Despite the pandemic, the quality of the Qatari education system remains high, according to research firm Alpen Capital. In 2020, Qatar allocated 10.5 percent of its total budget towards education – markedly higher than the 9.3 percent earmarked in 2019.
According to the report, the allocation supports the country’s aim to boost the education sector by improving course curriculums, promoting efficient teaching, and refining the overall functioning of the education system.
The rise of edtech in Qatar
Qatari schools and universities are working with global partners to help prime the educational system for the digital age. Chief among these collaborators is Britain, home to Europe’s largest edtech community and a historically established education sector.
“Qatar places great importance on education as part of its national diversification strategy. British companies have been at the forefront in supporting local schools to deliver blended online and offline learning during the pandemic,” said Simon Penney, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for the Middle East.
Over half of the ‘European Edtech Top 20’ list hails from the UK, and Britain is home to more than 1,000 edtech companies with expertise in infrastructure, connectivity, hardware, software and content. London’s edtech ecosystem alone is the largest in Europe with an estimated value of $3.4 billion.
Tech-centric hybrid learning
The full impact of COVID-19 on local education is yet to fully unfold, however learning models are almost certainly set to become more tech-centric in the long-term given the rapid exposure schools have had to edtech benefits.
While face-to-face learning is likely to remain an educational staple – given its ability to provide one-on-one support, group work and wellbeing benefits – the pandemic has propelled schools towards hybrid models that radically integrate digital technology into everyday teaching.
According to Simon Hay, CEO and founder of UK-headquartered Firefly – a company that creates technology for learning continuity and parent engagement – hybrid learning has become more prevalent in Qatar schools where students are only in-house for part of the week to maintain social distancing and minimise classroom numbers.
Firefly partners with more than 850 schools globally, including in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The British edtech firm recently supported Doha College in its mission to enhance parental communications.
Nicola Meikle, vice principal for teaching and learning at Doha College, led the programme that replaced a mixture of paper and email communications with a single-point system for relevant parent, pupil and teacher information. “Without it we couldn’t have responded to the needs of our community during this pandemic in the same way,” she said.
The system – based on the Firefly platform – gives parents a clear view of school life and their children’s progress. It has been especially useful at secondary school level, according to Meikle, who says that it can be more challenging for parents to see a window into their children’s progress when pupils move up to secondary school. “Having this portal helps them to keep track of where their child is at and they feel more involved,” the vice principal said.
Doha College leveraged a teacher network of early adopters and e-learning coordinators to encourage the gradual adoption of the new system through mentoring, professional development and assisting parents.
Meikle said the system played a “vital role” in supporting learning and parental engagement during the pandemic.
Personalised approach
According to Firefly’s Hay, the roll-out of the vaccine across the region is likely to pave the way back towards more ‘in-school’ teaching, but the adoption of edtech means that schools are now in a better place to manage disruption.
“Teachers have witnessed how technology can radically assist learning. Edtech allows schools to provide engagement, flexibility, personalisation and accessibility in new and relevant ways,” said Jamie Ball, regional manager of education for Middle East and Africa at Northern Ireland-based Texthelp.
During the pandemic, Texthelp supported over 500 Gulf schools with its literacy, accessibility and maths software tools.
“Our company was able to tailor these tools to enable new ways to assess work, provide instant feedback and support specific needs for online students, resulting in a four-fold increase in users across the region,” said Ball.
And many more British edtech businesses are helping to support the region’s education goals – across sectors such as gamification, robotics and STEM labs.
UK-based company Mangahigh is helping over 400 schools in the Gulf to teach and engage students in math through game-based learning. Using gamification principles and AI, Mangahigh’s vision is to become a renowned regional and global edtech player in STEM education.
“The pandemic was a wake-up call for the education sector to shift from a traditional model to a hybrid model that is more in line with 21st century needs,” said Shruthi Dhanwanthary, schools director for EMEA at Mangahigh. “Many schools in the EMEA region have started adopting multiple curriculum resources to tackle different learning pockets. Another key change to supplement this adoption is that schools have invested in the upskilling of educators worldwide to deliver education virtually,” she said.
Agile learning
British design, technology and science equipment firm HME is going full steam ahead with the implementation of its fully customised AI, aviation and robotics labs in schools and universities in the Middle East, and is in talks with institutions in Qatar for imminent future projects.
“HME promotes the integration of agile learning methods for educational delivery in the UK and the Gulf region. For many years, British universities have adapted to a flexible learning platform for both an online and classroom-based learning environment. We believe agile hybrid education is the way forward, and has shown us that we must be innovative and flexible in how we deliver design and technology education” said Simon Wensley, Export Sales and Product Development Administrator at HME.
With the support of government and entrepreneurs, in conjunction with edtech companies, HME believes investing in the development of hybrid teaching content, combined with essential in-school pupil interaction, could support the delivery of a viable model of education across multiple subjects.
According to Penney, Qatari teaching institutions are proving to be “innovative adopters” of digital solutions in the race to become disruption-proof amid the global pandemic.
“There is vast scope for British collaboration as Qatar continues to invest in refining its education system as part of its ambitious economic diversification goals,” he said.
Jinoos Shariati is DIT Country Director, Qatar, British Embassy Doha.
