New Private Schools Law - Qatar

Further to our article in the fourth edition of Education in focus, we remind our readers that the deadline for compliance with Law No. (23) of 2015 the New Private Schools Law (the New Private Schools Law) is approaching. When the New Private Schools Law was approved in November 2015, the Minister granted a 12 month grace period for schools to comply with the provisions of the law. This grace period will expire in November 2016, unless it is extended by the Minister. We also remind our readers of the key provisions of Law No. (18) of 2015 the Educational Services Law (the Educational Services Law).

The New Private Schools Law

The New Private Schools Law regulates all privately run schools in the State.

We note some of the key points of the New Private Schools Law below:

There are 36 Articles of the New Private Schools Law, divided into 7 Chapters as follows: Definitions and General Provisions, Licencing and Approval Procedures, Conditions for Ownership and Management, Buildings and Facilities Requirements, School and Study System, Investigations and Discipline and General Closing Provisions. The New Private Schools Law has introduced a series of penalties for private schools found to be operating without the proper licences and approvals from the Education Regulator, including imprisonment and/or fines up to QAR 100,000. Schools cannot operate without a licence or make any changes to their existing licence without the pre-approval of the Education Regulator. Any materials, tools and/or curriculum that does not meet the standards of the Education Regulator may be withdrawn or ordered to be changed. Schools are prohibited from receiving funding or donations without approval from the Education Regulator and face fines for violation of this rule. In parallel with the coming into force of the New Private Schools Law, the director of the Private Schools Office in the Education Regulator has appointed a private financial company to review requests for school fee increases; all fee increases will now need to be initially reviewed by this company before being considered by the Private Schools Office and the Education Regulator.

The Educational Services Law

The Educational Services Law governs any individual or entity which provides education services and/or training in the fields of languages, computing, secretarial, accounting and/or business administration in a centre.

The Educational Services Law came into effect following its publication in the...