Qatar recorded the “highest” growth in student enrollment across the GCC region, growing at 6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2014 and 2019, says researcher Alpen Capital.
The country’s overall Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) increased from 56.1% in 2014 to 66.2% in 2019, “primarily driven by a continuous rise in enrolments across the pre-primary, primary, secondary, and tertiary segments, Alpen Capital said in its latest ‘GCC Education Industry’ report.
Total enrollment in pre-primary segment grew at a CAGR of 5.4% between 2014 and 2019.
The growth is attributed to the rising preference among nationals towards private schools coupled with the various initiatives undertaken by the government towards kindergarten and pre-school students.
In its strategic plan 2018–22, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE) is targeting an increase in enrolment of children aged 4-5 years in early childhood education programmes across the country.
Consequently, the segment reported a GER of 60.8% in 2019, up from 54.7% in 2014.
Primary and secondary segments accounted for over 84.9% of the student enrolments in the K-12 education system and recorded a GER of 103.5% and 93.6%, respectively, in 2019, Alpen Capital said.
Enrollments at primary and secondary education segments increased at a CAGR of 6.3% and 5.8%, respectively, between 2014 and 2019.
The tertiary segment grew at a CAGR of 6.7% over the five-year period, the highest enrolment growth amongst all the levels in the country.
“Although the GER in the tertiary education segment has improved from 13.6% in 2014 to18.9% in 2019, it still remains lowest amongst all the GCC nations due to an increasing preference among students to go abroad for better quality education,” Alpen Capital noted.
The total number of K-12 enrollments grew at a CAGR of 6% between 2014 and 2019, whereas the share of K-12 enrolments to total enrollments changed marginally from 90.6% in 2014 to 90.3% in 2019.
Private schools in Qatar accounted for 60.1% of the K-12 enrolments in 2019. Between 2014 and 2019, the K-12 private-school sector enrolment grew at a CAGR of 7% while public school sector enrollments expanded at a CAGR of 4.6%, Alpen Capital said.
