QNA
Doha
The State of Qatar made remarkable achievements in its literacy and adult education programs, with illiteracy registering zero percent among school-age students and 0.95 percent in general, according to statistics released the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA) in 2020.
According to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, a total of 7,676 were registered for adult education programs in the academic year 2021-2022. Adult education students are registered in all public schools, except for the model ones.
On the occasion of the International Literacy Day celebration, which falls on Sep. 8 each year, the ministry affirmed that education is essential for sustainable development, and that it opened and expanded centers for adult education and illiteracy eradication to provide educational opportunities for those whose circumstances prevented them from continuing their learning, posing a challenge to development programs.
Responding to the accelerating development in the life of the Qatari society, the ministry devised new curricula that keep pace with the development movement in the general education curricula on the one hand, and take into account the needs of the target group and their psychological and developmental characteristics, and enable them to play their part in the learning process, to be able to participate in cultural, economic and social development processes on the other hand. These curricula go in accordance with the requirements of the current period dominated by the knowledge economy, 21st century skills, and sustainable development.
Due to its early efforts to eradicate illiteracy initiated in the 1950s, the State of Qatar made remarkable achievements with the percentage of illiteracy among students of school age reaching zero percent along with adopting literacy and adult education programs within its regular schools.
The 10-year adult education system in Qatar consists of three stages, including a four-year stage for eradicating illiteracy and elementary education, a three-year preparatory stage, and a three-year secondary stage.
Inspired by the value of science entrenched in Islam, the State of Qatar paid great attention to the educational process and scientific research, with the school dropout rate plummeting to zero percent. These achievements were based on the country’s belief that the education and literacy of citizens - the real pillars of developments, is a responsibility to be shouldered in a world full of all types of scientific and vocational knowledge.
The State of Qatar witnessed a record and unprecedented expansion in constructing new schools of all stages, an achievement that can be made only in the most advanced countries. The country, represented by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, adopts relentless plans and efforts to enhance school absorption capacity and offering opportunities for both children and adults, prioritizing the quality of education, including vocational and technical education, to produce efficient and skilled graduates capable to continue postgraduate studies and compete within the job markets.
The notable and increasingly growing development in Qatar’s education system locally and abroad is ascribed to the wise leadership’s unrelenting and generous support for all types, sectors and levels of education, leading to well-established educational renaissance concerned about preparing Qatari citizens well equipped with belief, science and knowledge as the main pillar for development and civilized renaissance.
Bearing in mind the dimensions and social dangers of illiteracy, the State of Qatar established in 1954 the first-ever literacy and adult education center to cope with the country’s educational renaissance. The orchestrated efforts in 1945 and 1955 culminated in the establishment of formal schooling in late1956 including evening classes. In 1976, two girls’ schools were inaugurated.
Adult education and illiteracy eradication efforts continued particularly amid the need for proper development and planning to address the problem that surfaced in the Arab world. Qatar effectively contributed to the implementation of the Arab strategy for illiteracy eradication and preparation of the work plan of the Regional Program for the Universalization and Renewal of Primary Education and the Eradication of Adult Illiteracy in the Arab States (ARABUPEAL).
The State of Qatar also adopted a 10-year plan (1977-1986) for adult education and illiteracy eradication, a move that strongly contributed to a continued decrease in illiteracy rate nationwide that it dropped to 0.95 percent in general and zero percent among school-age students.
Most countries offer two adult education tracks- one related to homeschooling where students of both genders are registered and tested in day schools and another optional track for evening classes. In this context, the newly-adopted adult education program in the State of Qatar offers much resilience and attraction sources including the opportunity for students to accomplish their learning within 10 years instead of 12.
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education is keen and confirms its readiness to open additional centers for these students wherever they are and even in remote areas of the country, noting that the past two years have witnessed the opening of centers in Al Khor and Al Sheehaniya. The ministry is also working on developing study methods and tools in literacy and adult education centers with the introduction of the electronic registration process, which helped many of them join the centers, making Qatar one of the advanced countries in this field, and adult education is a complementary system to the public education system.
The State of Qatar’s interest in eradicating illiteracy, which reached its lowest levels, and its remarkable achievements in this field stem from its keenness to provide public education with all the capabilities that guarantee its rapid growth and access to a scientific and global level, in line with and comparable to what is applied in developed countries.
The State of Qatar devised initiatives and exerted efforts to provide education opportunities for millions of children in poor countries worldwide, and to construct and restore many educational institutions in Asia and Africa. At top of these initiatives are initiatives of ‘Educate A Child’, ‘Al Fakhoora’ and ‘Reach Out to Asia’ (ROTA), all of which are affiliated with the Education Above All Foundation. These regionally and internationally acclaimed initiatives are part of Qatar’s efforts to secure education for 10 million children worldwide, and its continued cooperation with relevant international organizations to develop the educational system, exchange experiences, and develop plans and strategies to modernize the fields of education in general, including the adult education and literacy programs.
The world marks the International Literacy Day Sep. 8 annually, after it was approved by the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) at its 14th conference in Paris in 1966.
This annual celebration by the UNESCO member states, along with governmental and non-governmental concerned international, regional and national organizations, aims to mobilize public opinion and draw attention to the importance of reviewing efforts, and exerting further efforts to eliminate illiteracy and its negative impacts, and move towards establishing an advanced and developed system for adult education.
