Call for collective efforts for an integrated curriculum

“There is need for an integrated curriculum which should involve teachers, students, experts and parents,” said Dr. Hamad Al Hammami, director of the Unesco regional office. Dr. Al Hammami was delivering the key note address at the symposium on “Qatar’s National Curriculum Standards”, organized by the SEC’s Education Institute on November 30, 2005 at The Ritz-Carlton.

He also added that students would become motivated once the goal of education became clear to them. “They should feel that there is something in the curriculum that challenges their mind and their abilities,” he said. The event attracted over 500 educators from Independent and Ministry of Education (MoE) schools, as well as the universities in Qatar.

The event marked the significance of curriculum standards and create public awareness about the role of the standards currently implemented in the new Independent Schools. Parents and teachers not only got a first hand perspective about the role standards play in reforming the education system, but also had the opportunity to raise their concerns or views on the implementation of the standards implemented in 2004.

In her presentation entitled “Standards versus Textbooks,” Anita Straker, Principal Consultant with the Center for British Teachers (CfBT) stressed that a good range of teaching and learning resources are needed to support the standards set in the Qatari Independent Schools. “Teachers also need support and training to help them to be less dependant on a single textbook scheme.”

Professor Yasir Suleiman emphasized the use of classical Arabic at all times; reading, writing and speaking, “It would be double standard when dealing with Arabic if we showed pride in it’s cultural heritage while shunning it in our daily life usage,” he says. Professor Suleiman was speaking on “Arabic Standards between Authenticity and Modernization.” He also praised the milestones that Qatar has made in developing the Arabic Standards.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and Qatar started this journey and has made significant and pioneering strides in the cause of Arabic. The path which Qatar has taken should be nurtured and encouraged by all those who care about Arabic – the language of the Nobel Quran.”