‘Expatriates have complete confidence in govt policies’

The welfare policies of Qatar help attract expatriate communities to the country, Syed Abdul Hye, a senior educationist, has said.

“The expatriate communities have complete confidence in the policies of the government and they know Qatar will successfully overcome the ongoing Gulf crisis,” Abdul Hye, who has been living in Qatar since 1969, told Qatar Urdu Radio’s live radio show Haqeeqat yesterday.He stressed that health and education have always been a top priority for the government. “Qatar is a welfare state and the government has carefully invested in its institutions over the last two decades, particularly health and education.”Abdul Hye mentioned that institution-building has made present-day Qatar a strong state. “During the early-1990s’ crisis in the region, many schools had to be shut down because expatriate families went back to their home countries. Though things returned to normal soon, there was a temporary phase of uncertainty,” he recalled.He noted that the Saudi-led blockade has had zero effect on Qatar’s education sector and that schools reopened last week with full attendance. “Schools have received many applications this academic year but do not have enough space for new students.” Haqeeqat aims to engage and interact with the large South Asian expatriate community in Qatar. It is a joint venture of Gulf Times and Qatar Media Corporation Urdu Radio, and broadcasts from Sunday to Thursday on FM107. Log on to Qatar Urdu Radio on Facebook and ‘@QatarUrduRadio’ on Twitter for feedback and comments about the show.