UK most preferred destination for Qatari students

By Joseph Varghese/Staff Reporter

The United Kingdom  is the most preferred destination for  Qatari  students who want to go abroad for higher studies on scholarship, according to the figures released by the  Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics. The second most preferred country is the United States.

According to the statistics recently released by the ministry, there were 988 students studying abroad on scholarships in the academic year 2012-2013. Of them, 750 were males and 238 females. They formed  46% of the total number of students on scholarship in Qatar and abroad.

As per the official figures a total of 518 Qatari students were studying for various courses in the UK. Out of them 350 were males and 168 females. The US had 328 Qatari students studying different programmes and they comprised 297 male and 31 female students. Both these countries accounted for 846 students out of the total of 988.

Qatari students pursuing higher education abroad on scholarship are  studying in  23 different countries. Most of the students are preparing for bachelor’s degrees while a good number of the students were engaged in master’s programme. Some 18 students are doing research and thus aspiring for doctorates in their field of studies. Around 360 students are following other streams of higher education. European countries accounted for almost half of these countries.

The most favoured subjects for the students studying abroad were business, management, marketing and related support services. A total of 320 students were following these courses at various universities aboard during the academic year. This was followed by engineering which was chosen by 217 students. Some 27 students were studying health-related sciences and 28 students were following journalism and communication courses.  

The total number of students on scholarships in Qatar and abroad was around 2,200 during the same academic year. Among them 54% were at universities and colleges in Qatar. However these were students provided scholarship by the Higher Education Institute.  There are a number of students in Qatar and abroad who are on scholarships from other entities.

There are still many others who are pursuing higher education on their own.A