QNA
Doha
Minister of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs HE Dr Ghaith bin Mubarak al Kuwari, Minister of Education and Higher Education HE Dr Mohammed bin Abdul Wahed al Hammadi and a number of officials from Education Above All Foundation inaugurated the First Ihsan School in Umm Ghuwailina area on Tuesday.
The First Ihsan School was established as a partnership between the Education Above All Foundation (EAA), the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. The aim was to address the problem of financial barriers and the age and educational gaps faced by children of non-Arab communities in Qatar, as the school provides free education. The school includes 36 classrooms to accommodate 400 students. The school will work in two sessions -- morning and evening -- to accommodate 800 students.
In a press statement after the inauguration, the minister of education said the school would serve non-Arab students who find it difficult financially and socially to enrol in schools.
He said the school would operate in coordination between the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs, and EAA to provide good opportunities for the children to receive education.
Dr Hammadi said the school operates on the special Cambridge English curriculum for students who do not speak Arabic. A second school will soon be launched with an Arabic curriculum, he added.
The school building, which is over 50 years old, has been renovated and rehabilitated in the old style, and the ministry has provided other buildings for community schools in Qatar.
Director of the General Department of Endowments Sheikh Dr Khaled bin Mohammed bin Ghanem al Thani said the school is one of the pioneering educational initiatives of the endowment bank for scientific and cultural development.
He said the school costs over QR4 million, excluding maintenance, which will be covered by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
The school has registered 354 students who were unable to afford completing their education.
He added that teaching will be in English and Arabic, and will include Shari’a and the history of Qatar.
EAA Programmes Director Mariam al Mannai said the EAA has launched a programme to ensure that children have equal access to quality education.
Managing Director of the school Mohammed Khan Zadeh thanked all stakeholders for their interest in supporting education for children living in limited circumstances and possibilities.