Second Assalam School Opens
Continuing its legacy and efforts to ensure every child has access to a quality primary education, the Education Above All Foundation (EAA), founded by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, held a ceremony today to celebrate the opening of the Second Ihsaan School in Doha. This new school, established in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and funded by Qatar Charity and Afif Charity will address the needs of Arab students who have never been to school, with lessons taught in Arabic using the Qatar National Curriculum. The school population currently includes students from 15 different nationalities.
The school will provide quality education to children and youth who have been unable to access formal education due to a number of barriers, including poverty and displacement. On this occasion HE Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Mohammed bin Abdul Wahed Al Hammadi expressed his pleasure at the opening of the school, which reflects Qatari institutes' keenness to fulfill their social responsibilities to provide free education opportunities, noting that "Ihsan II" is one of a series of schools, one of which was opened last year for Asian communities.
HE the Minister clarified that EAA plays a great role in communicating its educational mission all over the world, especially for those residing in the State of Qatar, whose countries suffer from different conditions, so that no child in Qatar is outside the education system.
He pointed out that the Ministry has provided the building and many services such as maintenance, security and academic supervision for this school, noting that the school board of trustees is concerned with appointing the teaching staff, school administration and other operational matters.
The First Ihsaan School was established in June 2019 to serve the education needs of non-Arab students in Qatar, and plans are set to establish three more Ihsaan schools to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education is provided for all children and youth in Qatar. The Second Ihsaan School will serve 518 students in grades 1-12 in two shifts. There are 23 teachers and 10 administrative staff members in the morning shift, with plans to hire 13 teachers and four administrative staff for the second shift. The school has 15 classrooms and features a variety of excellent facilities including a library, computer lab, school canteen and a mosque.
With more than 59 million children out of school across the globe, the need for creative and inclusive access to education continues to be a priority for the State of Qatar. In a statement after a recent visit, Dr. Koumbou Boly Barry, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education, congratulated Qatar on its visionary and open approach to education, and the resources it is investing in. She encouraged the State of Qatar to “invest even more in the public education system and provide access to it for all, free of charge”.
EAA, through its Together program, aims to assist parents and families in Qatar who are faced with barriers that keep them from having their children attend school and thereby, ensure that all children and youth in Qatar have access to quality education.
Representatives from additional partners, AFIF Charity, Carrefour and the Qatar National Library, also joined the effort to launch the school.
“We are very grateful for the commitment shown by our partners. Our success is made possible with the support of partners across all sectors of Qatar, including the government, NGOs and the corporate community. As we look to the future and anticipate the needs of the children and families in Qatar, we are excited about our plans to grow our network of partners and expand the reach of the Ihsaan Schools said Maryam AL Mannai, Projects Officer at Education Above All. “This second school, along with the first and the others to come in the future, will unlock the potential of children and youth to be productive, responsible, contributing residents of Qatar.”
The admissions criteria of the Ihsaan schools states that all potential students should not be enrolled in any other school (private, government or home) at the time of admission. Students shall be legal residents of Qatar (hold valid QID), with exemptions for Syrians and Yemenis, who only need to have a valid visa. Families must also meet the financial eligibility criteria developed by EAA and the partners.
