The Second Ihsaan School has opened its doors in Doha with an aim to provide quality education to children and youth who have been unable to access formal education due to a number of barriers including poverty and displacement.
The school was established to take forward the efforts Education Above All Foundation (EAA), founded by HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, to ensure every child has access to a quality primary education.
Minister of Education and Higher Education, H E Dr Mohammed bin Abdul Wahed Al Hammadi and several other dignitaries attended a ceremony held yesterday to mark the opening of Second Ihsaan School in Doha.
The Minister emphasised that EAA plays a great role in taking forward the mission to enrol students in schools all over the world, especially for those residing in Qatar.
“The Ministry has provided the building and many services such as maintenance, security and academic supervision for this school, noting that the school board of trustees is concerned with appointing the teaching staff, school administration and other operational matters,” the Minister said while speaking to media on the sidelines of the event.
The school was established in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and funded by Qatar Charity and Afif Charity. It will admit Arab students who have never been to school or dropped out of schools for different reasons. Lessons will be taught in Arabic under the Qatar National Curriculum for free.
The Second Ihsaan School will enrol 518 students from grades 1 to 12 in two shifts. The school has 23 teachers and 10 administrative staff members in the morning shift while 13 teachers and four administrative staff for the second shift. The school has 15 classrooms and features different facilities including a library, computer lab, canteen and a mosque.
At present, the school has the school students from 15 different nationalities.
EAA, through its Together programme, aims to assist parents and families in Qatar who are faced with barriers that keep them from having their children attend school and thereby, ensure that all children and youth in Qatar have access to quality education.
The First Ihsaan School was established in June 2019 to serve the education needs of non-Arab students in Qatar, and plans are set to establish three more Ihsaan Schools to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education is provided for all children and youth in Qatar.
“Our success is made possible with the support of partners across all sectors of Qatar, including the government, NGOs and the corporate community. As we look to the future and anticipate the needs of the children and families in Qatar, we are excited about our plans to grow our network of partners and expand the reach of the Ihsaan Schools,” said Maryam Al Mannai, Projects Officer at EAA.
“This second school, along with the first and the others to come in the future, will unlock the potential of children and youth to be productive, responsible, contributing residents of Qatar,” she added.
The admission criteria for Ihsaan schools states that all potential students should not be enrolled in any other school (private, government or home) at the time of admission. Students shall be legal residents of Qatar (hold valid QID), with exemptions for Syrians and Yemenis, who only need to have a valid visa. Families must also meet the financial eligibility criteria developed by EAA and the partners.