Realising the fact that a knowledge society is the most powerful asset of a country, Qatar has been paying greater attention to the education process by providing essential infrastructure such as school buildings, transport facilities, training centres, providing students with study materials such as books, computers and other gadgets and most importantly providing communication infrastructure available in all areas of the country.
Qatar has never been satisfied with the domestic developments, but has been keen to facilitate progress in every field in the region and beyond. In this process, education always occupied a prime position. In the past few years, Qatar has been an active player in the arduous process of achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Goal 4 focuses on quality and affordable education for all. Recently, Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, (QNCECS) in cooperation with the Doha-based Unesco GCC and Yemen office celebrated the launch of the 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report.
During a virtual ceremony to launch the report, Minister of Education and Higher Education and President of QNCECS, H E Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulwahed Al Hammadi said that Qatar has paid great attention to education as the main tool for achieving development and prosperity and has sought to overcome the obstacles that hinder its progress to ensure the provision of comprehensive education in a good environment for citizens and residents of Qatar.
Qatar has successfully adopted and implemented several changes in the mode of dissemination of education during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which force-closed educational institutions. The pandemic deprived 90 percent of children worldwide traditional in-class lesson. But Qatar ensured that the education process marched ahead uninterrupted with the introduction of distance learning and blended learning. The country’s world-class communications technology infrastructure and Internet penetration made this process easier.
The Goal 4 targets include ensuring all girls and boys complete free and quality primary education, quality early childhood development, ensuring equal access for all to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, development of skills of youth, eliminating gender disparity in education, among others.
Qatar serves as a model for other countries in achieving almost all these targets as the visionary leadership of the country ensured everyone in the country has access to quality education without discrimination. Qatar, with its several agencies and organisations, is relentlessly working along with international entities to help other countries achieve these goals, especially the less-privileged ones and conflict zones where thousands of children are bereft of the right to education.
