Cabinet approves draft law on public schools

The weekly Cabinet meeting, presided over by HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani approved a draft law on public schools, and decided to submit it to the Advisory Council.Following the meeting, HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud stated that, under the draft law, the State establishes public schools and provides them with the funds to educate young people and promote education, innovation and excellence, and that the Ministry of Education and Higher Education organises public schools and appoints the administrative and academic cadre as well as supervises them, in order to achieve quality education.The stages of education and the duration of study in public schools should be as follows:The primary stage will be six years of schooling and the preparatory stage will be three years of study while the secondary stage will be three years of study for public education.A decision by the Cabinet will be issued to organise the stages and the duration of study in the specialist and technical education on the recommendation of the Minister.The Ministry may establish kindergarten classes before the primary stage for students from the age of four years, according to the rules issued by a decision from the Minister.Identifying the dates of study and holidays in public schools will be according to a decision from the Cabinet on the proposal of the Minister.The Ministry may also establish specialised public schools, to teach and take care of students with learning difficulties or disabilities, or people with talent and special abilities to develop their talents.The decision of identifying terms and conditions of admission of students to these schools will be issued by the Minister.Those who run the independent schools should meet all its financial and administrative conditions within six months from the date on which the law goes into effect.The Minister may extend the deadline for another similar period.Upon the proposal of the Minister, the Cabinet will activate a functional system for the public schools’ staff to determine their rights.Independent Schools staff will continue to receive their total salaries from the date on which the law goes into effect according to their employed systems until that system activated.The Cabinet also approved a draft Emiri Decision to organise the Community College of Qatar (CCQ). The draft decision is set to replace Emiri Decision No 52 of 2011 to organise CCQ, with a view to reorganising it and opening new specialisations to serve the labour market and grant a bachelor’s degree.The draft defines CCQ as an independent entity of an academic nature for academic, technical and practical university education, and has a legal personality, an independent budget annexed to the general budget of the state, and based in the city of Doha, with the possibility of establishing other branches and setting their locations based on a decision from the college’s board of trustees and with a suggestion from the president of the college.CCQ aims to prepare specialist technical personnel who are academically and practically trained in fields that meet the needs of the community and the labour market.It also aims to qualify diploma graduates certified to complete bachelor’s degrees at the college or at different universities as well as qualifying graduates with a bachelor degree to directly join the labour market.The college aims also to offer continuous education programmes and application programme according to the needs of ministries, public institutions, and public and private sectors.A board of trustees is in charge of college management, and comprises board president, a deputy that replaces the president in case of absence or vacancy in position, and 5-7 members of experience and high academic status.Job affairs of the college’s teaching staff are decided via a Cabinet decision based on a proposal from the Cabinet and the Minister of Education and Higher Education.Among other things, the Cabinet yesterday approved the application of provisions of Law No.24 of 2002 on retirement and pensions on Qatari employers of Elan Decaux companies.The Cabinet ratified a draft agreement on co-operation and mutual assistance in customs affairs between Qatar and Turkey, a draft memorandum of understanding for co-operation in the field of higher education, a draft memorandum of understanding in the fields of youth and sports, and a draft memorandum of understanding on co-operation in the energy sector between the two countries.The Cabinet also reviewed a set of topics and took the appropriate decisions.It reviewed a memo from HE the Foreign Minister about a proposal to amend Article 12 of Law No.14 of 1993 concerning passports.The meeting also reviewed a letter by HE the Minister of Culture and Sports on a proposal to transfer the overseeing of the Qatar Amateur Radio Society from the Ministry of Culture and Sports to the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs.The cabinet reviewed a memo by the Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs on the achievements and projects carried out by the Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities for the year of 2015.Cabinet hails Saudi-Qatar talks outcomeThe weekly cabinet meeting held yesterday praised the outcome of the talks between HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia, which took place in Doha during the latter’s two-day visit, from December 5 to 6.The visit focused on supporting and developing relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia in all fields and promoting the GCC action, as well as the security and stability of the region.The Cabinet also stressed that the visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to Qatar, and the wide official and popular welcome he received, reflected the depth of the affection, and appreciation as well as the historic and fraternal relationship between the two countries.