New Rules Ensure Rights and Benefits of Qatari Educators

The Education Institute of the Supreme Education Council issued new rules and policies in regard to Qatari personnel at the Independent Schools. The new rules specify the salaries, allowances and training that School Operators must provide to Qatari staff. They also address issues of performance assessment, secondment of staff, annual leave, and end of service entitlements. These policies are based on the following goals and principles:

• To provide opportunities for Qatari educators to obtain well-paid jobs
• To develop a system to reward staff for exemplary performance
• To set minimum limits for staff benefits and develop a means for school Operators to attract and train Qatari staff
• To make distinctions between full time employees, sabbatical employees and seconded employees To link the professional development of staff with the salary scale and promotion policy
• To ensure that Qatari staff obtain professional development
• To ensure there is an inclusive system to evaluate and develop staff performance

The rules require that all Independent Schools develop a staff organizational chart and salary scales which then must be approved by the Education Institute. The Schools must identify each job by title and include a job description and the duties associated with it.

Concerning staff salaries, the rules state that Qatari employees must receive a basic monthly salary not less than:

• QR 6,500 for university graduates (previously QR 3,750)
• QR 4,400 for secondary school graduates (previously QR 2,500)
• QR 2,500 for employees with less than a secondary school certificate (previously QR 1,500)

These salaries are in addition to any allowances to which the staff is entitled, such as for job nature, transport and housing. These allowances must not be less than the allowances offered to employees holding the same job title in the Civil Service (plus any social allowance).

Full-time sabbatical employees must be offered a basic salary of not less than their current basic salary plus an encouragement allowance, if applicable. In addition, these employees must also be given a monthly amount not less than the following:

• QR 2,500 for university graduates
• QR 1,800 for secondary school graduates
• QR 1,000 for employees with less than a secondary school certificate

Employees seconded from the Civil Service will continue to receive all their entitlements from the Civil Service, in addition to a monthly allowance of not less than:

• QR 2,000 for the university graduates
• QR 1,200 for the secondary school graduates
• QR 800 for employees with less than a secondary school certificate

In announcing the new rules, Sabah Al-Haidoos, Acting Director of the SEC Education Institute Director said, “We want to ensure that Qatari teachers maintain their rights and are provided with appropriate professional development opportunities at the Independent Schools. We also are moving toward our goal of Qatarization by urging Independent School Operators to recruit and employ Qatari staff. Ideally, we want to achieve 70 percent Qatarization of teachers and staff in these Schools in the near future.” Ms. Al-Haidoos added that high-performing employees will receive financial and other rewards.