Ministry Reinforces both Arabic and Islamic Subjects Must be taught in Private Kindergartens

Ministry of Education and Higher Education

Beginning with the academic year 2022–2023, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has begun implementing its decision to make Arabic language and Islamic studies required courses in private kindergartens (KGs).

“This is the first academic year from when it is being mandatory for private kindergartens to teach Arabic language and Islamic studies,” said Assistant Undersecretary for Private Education Affairs at the Ministry, Omar Abdul Aziz Al Naama.

Al Naama recently stated that the required courses include Arabic language, Islamic studies, and Qatar history while speaking on the sidelines of an event.

“In the previous years, Arabic language and Islamic studies were being taught to students from grade 1 to 12 and Qatar history from class 9. The move aims at instilling national identity and religious values in students at an early age,” said Al Naama. In order to verify that the decision is carried out and to assess the results in order to provide appropriate solutions, if necessary, for the project's success, he added officials from the relevant department at the Ministry will visit private kindergartens.

“As many as 173 kindergartens are operating in the country. They were recently shifted under the umbrella of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education,” said Al Naama, adding that the number of private schools and kindergartens has reached 338. 

“There are 170 private education centers offering several educational and training programmes. As per the latest statistics, private schools and kindergartens have over 211,000 students enrolled,” said Al Naama.In order to accommodate the demand in the upcoming years, he claimed that the Ministry has granted permits to eight new private schools.

“The private education sector at the Ministry is working to implement a number of initiatives to improve education quality in private schools.”

He cited "My principles define my identity," "Strengthening national identity," and the "Ethical charter" as measures released by the Ministry this year.

According to him, every initiative in private schools is put through a thorough evaluation process that gauges how it will affect the children while also taking into account the rights and responsibilities of the administrators, directors, and board of trustees.