The Supreme Education Council (SEC) was established in accordance with the Emiri Decree No.37 in November, 2002. The main task of this Council is to direct the education policy of the State of Qatar. Besides the Council, three institutions work together in tandem, overseeing the reform of scientific education and helping to make it grow.
The membership body of the SEC is made up of high-profile and distinguished individuals from the academic, business and public sectors.
Educational development has been accelerated to involve both males and females in every community in the country, and at all educational levels up to university level.
The State of Qatar supports the establishment of private educational institutions of various types, and provides continuous support in legal and supervisory aspects.
Qatar aims to provide its citizens with skills and knowledge. In addition to that, Qatar is seeking to become an education hub in the Middle East through the initiatives financed by the government. The intention is to reform its internal education system, as well as present incentives to attract international educational institutions to the country.
Qatar also presents a number of educational utilities, from nursery schooling to post-graduate level in both the public and private sectors.
The total number of schools in Qatar by 2009 amounted to 299, with a total student body of 151,050. The public sector has a share in 118 schools affiliated to the Ministry of Education, as well as 70 independent schools.
The private sector has 77 international, private and community schools, in addition to 34 private Arab schools.
Qatar Foundation:
Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, a non-profit private institution, was established in 1995 on the initiative of H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani and it is chaired by H.H. Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser.
To achieve its objectives, Qatar Foundation has set up a number of affiliated organisations and independent administrative departments which are all linked to the Foundation through the fields of education, health and community development.
World Universities at Qatar Foundation:
Qatar Foundation has selected eleven of the most important universities in the world in order to develop the country’s educational abilities and strengthen the national economy.
The eleven universities are as follows:
Texas A & M in Qatar - Providing university engineering programmes in the disciplines of Chemistry, Engineering, Mechanics, Electricity and Oil.
Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar - Providing Medical Studies at the highest level in Qatar, with an innovative two-year programme before the study of Medicine as well as a four-year programme to study Medicine that qualifies the student for a bachelor's degree.
Georgetown University - School of Foreign Service in Qatar – Providing its students with scientific degrees in International Politics, Culture, and International Economics that qualify them to work in international arenas.
Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar - Providing educational programs in Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Interior Design and the arts of Drawing and Printing, in addition to the Master of Fine Arts Faculty in the study of design.
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar – Has provided Qatar with more than 100 years of academic excellence and the highest level of scientific research in order to offer university programmes in the fields of Business Administration, Computer Science and Information Systems.
Northwestern University in Qatar - An internationally-recognised faculty of Journalism and Communication,offering courses in both these fields.
HEC Paris – HEC Paris joined Qatar Foundation in June 2010, it is a University of Administrative Sciences, and is the first member of the Qatar Foundation Management and Education Research Center (QF-MERC). It is one of the leading Business Schools in Europe, offering a wide range of Executive Education programmes for administrators of intermediate experience within Qatar.
University College London in Qatar - Offers graduate degrees in the studies of museums, and preservation of manuscripts and archeology, ensuring the provision of the required competencies in Qatar in order to manage museums and similar cultural and historic establishments.
College of the North Atlantic in Qatar - Qatar’s premier comprehensive technical college, opened in September 2002 through an agreement between the State of Qatar and College of the North Atlantic, Canada. It combines a Canadian curriculum and industry expertise in 4 programme areas: Health Sciences, Information Technology, Engineering Technology, and Business Studies.
Stenden University in Qatar - Offers a four-year Bachelor program in Business Administration with majors in International Tourism Management and International Hospitality Management.
University of Calgary in Qatar - The University of Calgary's Faculty of Nursing is renowned in Canada for its excellence in clinical practice and family health care. It opened its branch in Doha in 2007 where it offers a flexible, innovative, Bachelor of Nursing (BN) degree.
Qatar University:
Qatar University was founded in 1979 with four colleges: Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, Science, Law, and Sharia and Islamic Studies. Qatar University currently boasts a population of over 8000 students and an alumni body of over 30,000. Its staff body numbers 700. In 1980, the College of Engineering was established, then followed the College of Business & Economics in 1985.
Currently, Qatar University includes seven colleges; the College of Education, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Sharia and Islamic Studies, the College of Engineering, the College of Law, the College of Business and Economics and the College of Pharmacy.
The University also includes many centers through which it supports the education process and enhances the scientific activity such as the Gas Research Center, Qatar University Telecommunications Center, the Environmental Studies Center, Professional Development Office, Economic and Social Research Institute, and so on.