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Malek Helali
Doha
Director of Independent Schools Office Khalifa Saad al Derham has urged parents seeking admission for their children in independent schools to complete the registration process before summer vacation.
Derham said that early registration will benefit parents in many ways as they would be able to get schools of choice for their children and also reserve seats for their siblings in the same school.
"The Independent Schools Office has organised the early registration period in an effort to ease the parents' experience by providing them with a chance to register their children for the 2017-2018 academic year in their schools of choice while vacancies are still widely available. Early registration also prevents last minute inconveniences and ensures that siblings also get admission in the same schools on a priority basis,"Derham said at a press conference held by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education at the ministry's headquarters on Sunday.
While emphasising that 95 percent of parents follow the appropriate registration dates, Derham exhorted the remaining five percent to register early in order to avoid last minute rush and the subsequent inconveniences.
Additionally, Derham noted that the ministry opened a total of seven new independent schools, four for girls and three for boys, in Umm Sunaim, Muaither, Al Wakra, Al Dafna and Al Gutaifiya in order to accommodate the increasing number of students residing in these areas. He added that around seven existing schools moved to bigger buildings with improved facilities to increase their student capacity.
He also announced that an extension for the age allowance of new students up to grade four has been implemented allowing the registration of students born in January up until the 31st of the month to be admitted to nurseries and primary schools. There are no age requirements starting from grade five. Derham also said that this year, siblings' registration was extended to four days instead of two.
According to Warda Aqeel, President of Student Admission and Registration Office, registration for parents of special needs children, who require additional educational support, also started on Sunday (April 23) and will continue until May 25.
She explained that parents should provide Roua Evaluation, Consulting and Support Center with the required documents alongside their children's health evaluation reports to register them in inclusion schools or regular schools depending on the severity of the case.
This includes children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down's syndrome, Hydrocephaly, Cerebral Palsy, and other mild and moderate intellectual disabilities.
Aqeel highlighted that exemption forms for parents working in the private sector are available online and will be processed electronically until July 6. She noted that following the success of last year's online process, the ministry decided to continue the service this year.
She further stressed the need for parents to confirm receiving the automatic transition forms to the next educational level for students in grades six and nine from their children's schools this week.
