Posted by Amna Al-Thani at Tuesday, March 29, 2011 4:49:12 PM EDT
I am covering Education in Qatar for our Ethnography Project. This article has figures on the different changes in forms of education in Qatar. I have listed the most intriguing figures below and from my point of view, how they represent important changes in the society or can have important consequences.
* Increasing number of Qatari students now opt to study in private schools. How does this affect the level that Arabic is studied in schools? As most private schools in Qatar have English as a primary language and Arabic as a secondary language. Will this have important repercussions for the future of Qatar? Will this be a problem for the younger generations in mastering the Arabic language?
* Interestingly, the number of Qatari females studying abroad is on the rise. Women formed 25 percent of the total overseas Qatari students in 1980, to 50 percent in 2005. These reflect changes in the society and culture, indicating a positive change in the traditional attitude towards women's education. Where it was once looked down upon by society and considered taboo for women to leave their families to study abroad, these figures show outlooks are changing in society and from within the family as well.
* There is a general decline in the number of nationals studying abroad, after the establishment of branch campuses of several foreign universities in Qatar (such as Education City).
* Female students (Qatari and non-Qatari) outnumber male students in universities. Study shows that this is a GCC phenomenon for as most men join their family business at an early age. What are the consequences of this on the public sector of the country, will there be more women representation?
* A major challenge for the higher education sphere is the gap between content of the curriculum and the demands of the Qatari job market. Thus many graduates, especially women fail to find jobs due to this circumstance.
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/146830-more-qatari-kids-go-to-pvt-schools.html
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