Parents here spend an average of QR10,208 on the education of a child, while absenteeism in schools is as high as 17 percent, shows a recent survey According to the Supreme Education Council’s (SEC) 8th annual report on education for the academic year 2011-2012, students of independent schools spend 1.7 hours (2 hours 10 min) on homework in a week. Research for the report was conducted by the Evaluation Institute of the SEC. Dr Hamda Al Sulaiti, director of the Evaluation Institute, said a cross section of parents, teachers, and students of all the schools in Qatar were surveyed for the report. This included private, international, independent, Arabic, and community schools in the country. The report also compared findings of previous years to present comprehensive statistics of schools in Qatar. Students of Arabic private schools as well as the international schools spend 2.3 hours per week on homework, the report revealed. Asked about their views on the amount of homework given to their children, 73 percent of parents said it was ‘moderate’, while 12 percent said it was very tough. Some 15 percent of students were reported as late-comers in schools. The total number of schools in the country was 298, with 19,896 teachers and 196,207 students. There were 68 teachers on average per school and 658 students. Twenty percent of teachers were Qataris, 60 percent from other Arab countries, and 20 percent from non-Arab countries The average of students per teacher has been put at 11.4. Half the students in the country were Qataris (50 percent), 35 percent other Arab nationalities, while only 15 percent students came from non-Arab families. When asked about their ambitions, less than 20 percent said they are aiming for a high school level qualification and 11 percent said they wish to achieve a bachelor degree. Sixty-nine percent, however, said they want to pursue post-graduation degrees. Only 25 percent of teachers in the country had a post-graduate degree, with 71 percent holding at least a bachelor degree, and four percent did not even hold a bachelor certificate. School libraries on average had 5,163 books, with some 12 books for each student. There were 127.5 computers per school on average. The maximum average for computers was in independent schools at 151.4, followed by international schools at 122.8. The lowest number of computers were in Arabic private schools at 22.3 on average. Thirty-nine percent of teachers said they were not satisfied with their salaries, while 48 percent expressed their satisfaction over their current salaries. The Peninsula http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/233089-parents-spend-qr10208-to-educate-a-kid.html

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