Minister of Education and Higher Education, H E Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulwahed Al Hammadi affirms that Qatar has made unremitting efforts in facing the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID- 19) and reducing the negative effects of its spread in various fields, most important of which is education.

H E the Minister said that with the emergence of the pandemic and the suspension of study a result, and in accordance with the directives of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to continue the educational process in its planned path, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education took the decision to implement “distance learning” system, while taking a package of precautionary measures to ensure the health and safety of students.

This came in a speech delivered by His Excellency the Minister before the extraordinary (remote) meeting of the General Conference of Ministers of Education in the Member States of the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States, which was held in the presence of  H E Dr. Nayef bin Falah Al Hajraf, Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC).

Also in attendance were H E Dr. Madiha bint Ahmed Al Shaibania, Minister of Education in the Sultanate of Oman, President of the General Conference, and H E Dr. Ali bin Abdul Khaliq Al Qarni, Director of the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States.

H E the Minister said that the education sector is one of the sectors most affected by the precautionary measures taken by governments in the face of the outbreak COVID-19, which required rapid action from the ministries of education to find educational alternatives and methods to maintain the continuity of student education and provide educational opportunities for them.

In this regard, H E the Minister added that the solution represented in adopting work with technological systems and their modern applications in the field of education, among which distance learning, which contributed to students’ communication with their schools and teachers to complete their education, while maintaining health and safety of all parties of the educational process.

H E said: “What made the transition to” distance learning “in the schools of Qatar smooth and easy in these exceptional circumstances” is the State’s possession of all the pillars of the application of infrastructures represented in electronic platforms, digital sources, trained human cadres, and students who have dealing skills with technology.

He pointed out that the focus on developing e-learning and promoting the digital transformation of the educational environment has been an integral part of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education’s strategic plan since the beginning of the education reform movement in Qatar, based on an insightful vision of the wise leadership.

On measures taken by the Ministry to switch to distance learning, H E the Minister of Education and Higher Education, said that an integrated plan was put in place to implement the distance learning system for all levels of education that included all components of the educational process, and implementation started by providing the Ministry with unified platforms on the network the Internet, as well as two TV channels and 19 YouTube channels, broadcast the video lessons throughout the day.