The decision by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to allow schools to operate two shifts will create new job opportunities in country’ education sector. Experts believe that new system will also solve the problem of shortage of seats for new students.

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education recently gave green signal to three Indian schools to run a two-shift system from the new academic year (2019-20), starting from April this year.

The MES Indian School, Ideal Indian School and Shantiniketan Indian School have been given permission by the Ministry of run classes in morning and afternoon shifts.

“The decision to allow two shifts in schools is a step in the right direction as it will have many positive impact in general. The first direct impact will be on the demand of new teachers. Two- shifts mean schools will need more teachers because existing teachers will not be able to work in two shifts simultaneously,” said Uzma Ansari from The Next Generation School.

When a school is planned, it creates demand for many other goods and services. Teacher is one important aspect of school but there are other associated services like administrative staff, security persons, school transport, stationary goods and other such related things. A school is an important element of country’s economy.

“The decision to allow schools to operate classes in two shifts will have significant positive impact on the Qatar’s education sector because it will create new jobs,” said Samir Rai, Administrative Officer, Olive International School.

There will also be a positive impact on the country’s transport sector. A big part of students use bus transport provided by schools. It means that there will strong demand for new buses, drivers and attendants who ensure safety of students in the bus.

Encouraged by this new initiative, several other schools are planning to apply for two-shift classes.

“It is a great initiative and we are planning to approach the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to seek their approval for running two shift in our schools. We always face high demand for admissions. This huge demand can be met by allowing more schools to run two shifts,” said a senior official of a private school.

Qatar is witnessing rapid economic growth which is attracting high number of skilled expatriates from across the globe. Qatar needs new schools and new initiatives such as two-shift system to create additional seats for new students.

Realising the growing demand for more schools and attract private sector investment in the education sector, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education last month announced plans to build 45 schools in the coming years under public-private partnership.

According to the plan, the first phase consisting of eight schools whose plots of land were allocated, are expected to be offered during the summer of 2021 .

The approved project system will include design, construction, finance, operation, maintenance of buildings and transfer of ownership of schools.

Credit: Sachin Kumar I The Peninsula

Date – Time:4 Feb 2019 – 20:13

Source URL:https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/14/02/2019/Two-shifts-in-schools-to-create-new-jobs