New PSD campus opens at Abu Hamour

The Philippine School of Doha (PSD) has officially opened its new campus at Abu Hamour, welcoming more than 3,800 students on the first day of the academic year.

PSD’s four-storey building, a QR123mn project, will serve as a permanent home to Filipino students and more than 200 teaching and non-teaching personnel after 24 years of operating in rented buildings.
Speaking to Gulf Times, PSD principal Alexander Acosta said the new building can accommodate more than 4,000 students in over 150 modern classrooms. It is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, including four laboratories, gymnasium, and swimming pool.
He noted that the number of enrollees has increased this year compared to the previous academic year.

Currently, he said all levels are nearly full but they expect the number of students to further increase in the coming years.
“We still have available slots in junior and senior high school,” Acosta added.
PSD also hired more than 30 new teachers who are expected to arrive this month. The new school building, sitting on a 14,375-sq m plot donated by the Qatar government, is set to be inaugurated on October 5 during its founding anniversary.
Acosta said they expect officials from the Philippine Department of Education to visit the new campus on July 23 for an ocular inspection as PSD gears up to be the first Philippine science school in the Middle East. It will then be renamed to Philippine Science School of Doha or PSSD.
He reiterated that the plan of changing the name, being granted a three-year accreditation by the Qatar National School Accreditation “is a timely opportunity for the present school building.”
The opening of PSD’s new campus is expected to benefit many Filipino families in Qatar especially those with children of school age.
Meanwhile, the school management decided to postpone the classes Sunday and send the students back to their respective homes after the air-conditioning system of the first and second floors was not enough to cool the rooms.
“We thanked the parents and students for their kind understanding for the opening of classes. There are unforeseen circumstances beyond our control but rest assured that the students’ safety and comfort are of paramount importance,” the principal stressed. “Again, we ask for their understanding for the inconvenience that it has caused.”
Parents received an SMS advisory Sunday from class advisers saying that classes at PSD have been suspended from Monday to July 6 and will resume on July 9.