Qatar Chamber requests unbiased reporting on private schools

The Education Committee of Qatar Chamber (QC) said this week it is appealing to newspapers to be fair and factual in reports involving private schools, asking journalists to confirm all the facts before publishing information.

The committee said each private school should elect a communications representative to speak with the press. Members said the designated person would be responsible for verifying information related to the school before it is published.

To begin the new communications process, the committee plans to create a list of school representatives who would be responsible for speaking to the media.

The committee also said the schools should openly deliver information related to school activities, and committee members agreed to deliberate on the need for an action-oriented students’ social affairs department of the Ministry of Education.

The committee also discussed the issue of police entering schools and that of some government agencies founding private schools.

The committee sait many incidents in which parents have called the police to go onto school property to resolve an issue could have easily been handled by school officials. Therefore, members compiled a list of recommendations regarding parental interference and police involvement to give to the Capital Security Department.

In regards to private schools being established by government entities, the committee said that the legal affairs department of the QC should look over the legal status of these agencies and determine if they have the right to start private schools.