Higher Education in Qatar - Research Paper Example

? Research Report on Higher Education in Qatar Affiliation: Country Background Whenoil producing countries get involved with significant projects such as research, innovation and education it becomes a matter of scrutiny and cynicism. It is expected that they involve in school sponsorships and scholarships in the award of education and in most cases significant players and staff are invited over to create grassroots basic literacy. However, this is not the case with Qatar which is becoming a great player in the production of the one significant project in the toughest of environments; education. The country that lies in the Persian Gulf has managed to come up with highest levels of per capita income over the past years through oil and gas exports. Its history traces back over one hundred and fifty years ago under the rule of the al-Thani family which still holds the seat currently and in the early 1900 when it became a British protectorate. In 1971, the country gained independence, and in 1995, the state came up under the rule of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa who has since introduced different reforms, a substantial one being education projects (Louay, Goldman & Eide, 2008). Politically, women may vie and vote for certain positions in the elective posts and the state of democracy is dominant in the constitution. The country’s population is close to eight hundred and thirty four thousand, with the substantial settlement coming from foreigners than the natives. The country lies in the arid regions and the climate is mainly humid and hot in June until September. The temperatures are unusually high during the day going to about 50 degrees Celsius. During the winter, the temperatures are chilly, and precipitation is rare. The state experiences most of rainfall during winter with an average monthly rainfall of ten to twenty millimeters. The country has a gross domestic product of close to ninety two billion US dollars with most of the unskilled labor in the public sector and most of the large households struggle to support many dependents with low income. Behind the motive to create an education system that will enable sustainability of the nation is Sheik Abdulla bin Ali Al- Thani who is actually one of the members of the country’s ruling family and an educated professor. The Sheik is a capable man eager to set the state in continuous motion of self-independence and sustainability in the future should the oil and gas become extinct. In this case, the generation thus created will be able to stand on its feet and enhance innovation through education (Fromherz, 2012). Not only is this the main factor and project, but also the principal transformation through policies geared to motivate research and technology in production sectors. The country being limited by the amount of rainfall cannot thus depend on agriculture, but has come up to be a rich mine of the gas and oil which are the main sources of per capita income and which has now been used to better the education sector in order to raise a generation that can fend for itself in the near future. Qatar National Development Strategy 2011-2016 was implemented towards the achievement of Qatar National Vision 2030. The Vision aims to create sustainable economic prosperity, promote human development, creating a sound social development and sustaining the environment for future generations (Zellman, 2007). The national strategy is one of the key issues that take into consideration the cultural and religious values of the state with an overall mission of providing a balanced and sustainable growth by the year 2030 (Davis, 2012). Among the key elements that the government factored to be used as a tool for sustainable development was education which was to be made available to all citizen and foreigners cheaply (Boys, 2011). To achieve continuous modernization requires the development of the education system and public institutions which aim at providing quality management and services to the general public. The aim of the National Strategy is also to highlight the key areas to address the position of the state in global economic trends and clearly state the roles to be played to enhance both regional and international levels of production. Chapter four of the strategy provides for human development and highlights the critical issues with regard to education. The main focus here is to realize Qatar National Vision 2030 for education and training, addressing education issues, improving K-12 general education, enhancing higher education, as well as scientific research. Among other issues to be addressed in the education sector are the creation of capable and motivated labor force, fostering cross- section links, creation of quality training institutions and investments in the private employment. Overview of Higher Education Market in Qatar By virtue of having the third biggest oil and gas reserves in the world, the country is rich, with most of the young people seeking employment and lacking educational facilities. The leader sees an era when the exports will be no more or when the demand for gas goes down. In such an eventuality, education is considered to be the greatest asset in ensuring that the country survives where the young people will be able to pull out their capabilities and ensure sustainability. Other projects involve nurturing research and innovation and creation of startup companies to spearhead education in the Silicon Valley with an aim to develop a society that lives on its wits and that are capable enough. In this context, vast sums have been allocated in the building of the Education city where international experts have been hired to do the designs of the reading facilities that are an item in the desert. Vast science and technology has been built thus far in partnership with such successful companies as Shell, golf course and the riding stables. Among key objectives and current trends to the achievement of higher learning is the creation of the Education city with partnerships and links with many American Universities whose help has enlisted to ensure that the learning environment meets the international standards. The center for excellence hosts few foreign students and contains sports facilities as well as social amenities excluding bars. Students form links for fine arts, music, environmental concerns and other social activities but pay no special attention to political trends and issues which are not strong even in the spirit of democracy. Women, however, are considered an item and as opposed to most Arab ladies, these have freedom of expression and wear with many acquiring proper education and elective posts. Besides investing in higher education, other facilities have been created to enhance learning the English language and motivate teenagers. Children with difficulties are provided with a learning center, and an academic bridge program for the competent has been created. A leadership school is available to motivate teenagers and loans have been allocated to foreign students while the Qataris learn free. The system is too good to be true, portraying the extent to which the emir wants to drive education purposes. Long term trends with regard to the improvement of the education sector include the focus on K-12 and higher education as well as the improvement of the training institutions and research work (Zellman, 2007). The improvement of the education sector is categorized in twenty sector outcomes with twenty nine projects in the National Strategy 2011-2016. Six of the outcomes aim to integrate and plan in all sectors of training while the rest cover the K-12 general education. This includes the two years in kindergarten, six years in primary school, three years in preparatory school, three years in secondary school, higher and technical education, vocational training and research (Augustine, 2008). The National Strategy towards the achievement of Qatar Vision 2030 provides for reforms that will be put in place to achieve changes in the faculty. The education policies formulated address quality, equity, portability and mobility and these themes will determine the decision making process and choice. The reforms aim to address challenges experienced in demand and supply of training especially in the math, sciences and English subjects at all levels. The education needs once satisfied will ensure proper satisfaction of the labor market by ensuring that current and future manpower is adequate. The strategy focuses on monitoring teacher trainings, qualifications, professional conduct and curricula so as to ensure quality and consistency. The focus is also to improve tertiary admissions for the male students, increase recruitments to secondary schools, improve skills and access to educational facilities. Other policies include the expansion of private schools to provide variety and choice and improve the competition between the public and private sectors (Fromherz, 2012). The education reforms have a significant attention to improve the overall education by installing projects aimed in support of access to quality and consistent K-12 education. Besides this, there is need to improve awareness of the labor market requirements, provision of options for exceptional cases, providing a range of educational programs. With regard to higher education, future trends and policies have been formulated. Higher education is necessary to ensure the expansion of the labor market and increase opportunities for research and innovation in the state. The reforms under the National Strategy on higher education aim to prepare students for employment and to offer different tertiary education paths. The technical and vocational training sectors have been enhanced by creating organizational models and infrastructure as well as coming up with a regulatory framework that merges the technical and vocational training to the employment and societal needs. Internationalization of Education Qatar in the quest to promote education for sustainability has come up with radical partnerships so as to jump start the projects. Most of them have been established with the United States where eight prominent international universities have set up bases in Qatar Education City. The country is also involved with support of international projects such as the World Innovation Summit for Education which brings together leaders to discuss the need to promote education and training (Louay, Goldman & Eide, 2008). The prominent city in the desert is home to prominent American Universities, but none of the British origin. Being, a British protectorate, Qatar might have had enough of the colonial master. However, most of the United Kingdom famous institutions have failed to take part in the global transformation event in the Qatar Foundation. Renowned campuses in the UK such as Stanford, Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge have refused to take part in the scheme with only two agreeing to be involved in research namely the Imperial College London and Royal Society. The reasons brought forward for the decline to participate relate to decision making where the European states are said to be slow while the American campuses are more detached from the state. The education models of delivery focus on trainings, research, inclusive arts, paintings and music participation. All subjects are inclusive in the syllabus with a special attention to improving the math, science and languages both written and spoken as well as in the promotion of innovation in projects and research (Zellman, 2007). The founder, Dr. Abdulla has established a legal framework and a base in which both foreign and the natives are treated fairly and where lecturers have been hired from the overseas to ensure that proper English is trained. The aim is to ensure that international standards are kept and that the students achieve knowledge that is internationally recognized. The subjects also integrate cultural awareness and respect of the Arab culture with limit and freedom allowed to participate in political ventures. In a bid to promote accountability and increased independence, the government has transformed government schools to independent schools whose level of success depend on the teachers, parents and students. Even though most of the country has undergone rapid modernization, most of the traditional culture composed of distinctive music, poetry, dances and storytelling are still a common routine. Grass-roots community groups and foreigners are engaged in promoting the Qataris culture and promoting cultural exchanges and intercultural dialogues among the natives. The country has had global sphere of influence and the government has come up to promote cultural exhibitions, tours, workshops, festival and conferences all aimed at maximizing impact and building the pride of the state. Distance learning has been promoted with scholarship awards to well performed students and through proper relations with international institutions. In the overall, Qatar has developed an education hub in the tough environments which will facilitate sustainability and growth much more than other states whose GDP is much higher and with this pace constant, the state may develop the most renown institutions for educational excellence. References Augustine, C. & Krop, C. (2008). Aligning Post-Secondary Educational Choices to Societal Needs: A New Scholarship System for Qatar (Technical Report). Doha: Macmillan. Boys, J. (2011). Towards Creative Learning Spaces: Re-thinking the Architecture of Post-Compulsory Education. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Davis, J. (2012). American Higher Education in the Arabian Gulf-A Force for Liberalization. New York: Prentice Hall. Fromherz, A. (2012). Qatar: A Modern History. New York: Palgrave. Louay, S., Goldman, A. & Eide, R. (2008). Post-Secondary Education in Qatar: Employer Demand, Student Choice, and Options for Policy. Doha: Oxford Press. Zellman, G. (2007). Education for a New Era, Executive Summary: Design and Implementation of K-12 Education Reform in Qatar. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Zellman, G. (2007). Implementation of the K12 Education Reform in Qatar's Schools. Doha: Education Printing Press. Zellman, G. Et al. (2007). Education for a New Era: Design and Implementation of K-12 Education Reform in Qatar. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Read More