{
  "id": 10375294,
  "title": "Private schools to add 6,883 seats under new reforms",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/private-schools-to-add-6-883-seats-under-new-reforms",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-28T05:16:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Peninsula Qatar",
    "slug": "the-peninsula-qatar",
    "url": "https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/28/09/2026/private-schools-to-add-6883-seats-under-new-reforms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Doha, Qatar: Qatar's private schools will expand by 6,883 seats across 46 institutions following new regulatory reforms announced by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. The reforms aim to create a more flexible investment environment and support sustainable growth in the private education sector.\n\nDuring the ministry's first forum for private school and kindergarten license holders, Director of the Private Schools and Kindergartens Department and Acting Director of the Private Schools Licensing Department Dr Rania Mohamed explained that the new measures streamline transactions and lessen administrative burdens on investors and educational institutions.\n\nKey reforms include standardizing the validity periods of all transactions and licenses to match the educational licence duration of three to five years. The traffic safety licence will also no longer require annual renewal, instead valid for three consecutive years.\n\nTuition fee categories have been updated, increasing seats in medium-fee schools by 18% through reducing the required classroom space per student to 1.7 square meters. This change will create 688 additional free seats for eligible students under social responsibility programs.\n\nThe ministry has also introduced greater flexibility in teacher and administrative staff recruitment, replacing the previous requirement for ministry approval with a \"declaration and undertaking\" system. Schools can now directly select and recruit qualified candidates, with the ministry retaining supervision through field monitoring and verification.\n\nA new \"Quality Schools\" category has been introduced for institutions offering advanced technologies and international partnerships. Tuition fees for these schools will be linked to actual costs and additional services, with incentive increases up to 30% based on compliance with 20 defined criteria.\n\nThe new category aims to provide a regulatory framework for schools offering specialised educational models while linking tuition structures to the services and educational value provided. Educational vouchers will be available to newly established schools from the 2027-2028 academic year, and schools moving to new buildings from the 2026-2027 academic year. Private kindergartens in standalone buildings will join the programme from the 2027-2028 academic year.",
  "summary": "<p>Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s private schools are set to add 6,883 seats across 46 schools under a package of new regulatory reforms unveiled by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, as part of efforts to create a more flexible investment environment, expand educational opportunities and support sustainable growth in the private education sector.</p> <p>The measures were announced during the…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}