Tribune News Network
Doha
The National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA), in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), has announced an initiative to implement ‘Educational Cybersecurity Curricula’ in 170 private schools during the first phase, followed by 100 private schools in the next phase.
The implementation of Educational Cybersecurity Curricula in private schools comes after their implementation during the year 2023 in all government schools based on the National Cyber Security Agency’s keenness to build a digitally secure society, and its continuous endeavour to enhance digital safety indicators in society.
The Cybersecurity Educational Curricula aims to build a new generation capable of dealing with the digital world safely and effectively, and raise children and adolescents’ awareness of various concepts related to cybersecurity and digital safety.
The initiative targets students in various educational levels from the first grade of primary school to the third grade of secondary school.
Omar Abdulaziz Al Naema, assistant undersecretary for Private Education Affairs, said the Cybersecurity Educational Curricula project is an important step aimed at enhancing students’ awareness of cybersecurity concepts and digital safety, adding that it also plays a direct role in enhancing the overall educational content by introducing a new focus on digital literacy. Naema added that the implementation of the Cybersecurity Educational Curricula in private schools is a step towards further expansion of the application of the curricula at a state level.
Dalal Al Aqeedi, director of the National Cyber Excellence Department at the National Cyber Security Agency, said: “The agency aims, as part of its overall strategy, to enhance cybersecurity indicators, digital safety and digital literacy for various segments of the society, with students at forefront. Digital literacy for students will be a fundamental pillar in preparing the community as a whole.”
She stressed that the Cybersecurity Educational Curricula is fully consistent with the preventive cybersecurity strategy adopted by the National Cyber Security Agency for enhancing digital security indicators in Qatar.
During January 2024, the National Cyber Security Agency, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, will launch site visits to schools as part of Cyber Echo project, which aims to further enhance digital literacy for students at different educational levels.
The project will complement the Cybersecurity Educational Curricula and also provide specialised training content for trainers and parents.
The project targeted 80 government schools in its first phase, and in this phase, will target around 70 private schools, bringing the number of targeted schools in the country to about 150 government and private schools.
