Al-Hammadi Reveals Development Initiatives to Improve Education System

Doha, June 19 (QNA) - HE Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr. Mohammed bin Abdul Wahed Al-Hammadi on Sunday said the Ministry implements a package of measures aimed at improving the performance of the education system in the area of public and higher education to ensure a high-quality of output that would enhance Qatar's leadership and competitiveness and contribute to achieving Qatar National Vision. This came in a speech during the Annual Ramadan Ghabga hosted for the staff of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Al Sharq Hotel last night during which independent school principals who have spent 30 years or more in the education service were honored. In his speech, HE the Minister expressed thanks, appreciation and gratitude to all those in charge of education, including the staff of the Ministry, schools, parents and students for their hard work and dedication during this year, emphasizing the shared responsibility of all of them. He also stressed that enhancing the level of academic performance for students and education quality and efficiency is one of the most important strategic objectives that the ministry aims to achieve through the implementation of the ongoing policies, procedures and scientific programs. Dr. Al Hammadi said the Ministry has completed the process of the development of education infrastructure, solving the existing problems, construction of foundations and regulations that promote education quality, and it will focus in the next phase on the quality and the development of necessary indicators to measure and set up systems to assess and improve performance in all aspects of the educational process. The initiatives include the development of a system for analyzing and measuring the performance of students in national and internal tests conducted by schools plans to enhance performance, Dr. Hammadi went on saying. This system will be in place before the beginning of the next academic year so that school managers would assess the level of weakness and aspects that need to be developed to raise the academic performance among all students, Dr. Al-Hammadi said, pointing out that the measures also target to enhance teachers' capacities and all aspects of education system relating to the performance of students or curriculum. The Minister of Education and Higher Education reviewed the efforts being exerted to improve the education system's performance, including organizing training workshops to raise the quality of internal tests and establishing a Questions-Bank system, which is now in the testing phase. HE the Minister also revealed a package of initiatives and policies with regard to the education of early childhood, the adoption of a strategy for strengthening the reading, writing and arithmetic skills for the students of all primary schools along with the implementation of various initiatives aimed at meeting the needs of students with special needs and students who require additional support. In this context, HE the Minister reviewed the development of skills enhancement programs and Academic Advising for secondary schools ' students so as to facilitate their enrollment in universities and involvement in the labor market. The Ministry has implemented several initiatives including the establishment of a Committee charged with developing curriculum with help from experts to create an education plan including all tracks that fit the capabilities of students and their orientation in preparation for the development of a curricula in accordance with the curriculum national framework recently established in order to achieve Qatar's goals and ambitions in the provision of quality education in line with the National Strategy. (QNA)