new rules about school admissions
 

Dear all,
a few weeks ago this message has been forwarded to the forum, regarding admission to schools in Qatar. I had a look to the SEC website but I have not been able to find any official news.
Some of you could please tell if there are updates and where to find official communications about these new rules? thank you very much!!!

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Please note the following recent changes regarding acceptance to schools within Qatar:

1. The Supreme Education Council (SEC) has advised that no child coming from abroad is allowed to start school in Qatar before September 2014; this is a new rule that has just been imposed.

2. The SEC has advised that children are permitted to transfer between schools within Qatar provided the Year Groups/Curriculum remains the same.

3. The SEC has advised that Attested School Reports (in country of origin) are required for each child starting school in Qatar from September 2014. These Reports should also be stamped by the SEC in Qatar and must meet the SEC requirements for transfer from existing Curriculum and Year Groups to English Curriculum and Year Groups . NB: Clarification should be sought from the SEC as to how many year’s Reports attested they require to be e.g. two academic years etc.

Re: new rules about school admissions
 

I will be interested to know about this new admission policy as I intend to move my family to doha soon, probably in august this year.

Re: new rules about school admissions
 

but dont brit schs start in sept so that shouldnt be an issue, the american ones usually mid aug tho

Re: new rules about school admissions
 

the problem for me is to have the school reports attested by the ministry of education in Italy, then from the qatar embassy in Rome and then by the ministry of education in Qatar.

The qatar embassy in Rome does not accept to send the documents and does not release them attested in the same day, so I will have to go to Rome twice.

Moreover, if they require the school report of june 2014, this will mean to go to Rome 4 times, because we have to go in a few days anyhow for my husband documents, wasting thus 4 workdays and the money of the travel, plus taxes for having the documents attested (Italian and Qatari taxes)

dont' suggest me to look for an agency: we already tried, it is not a feasible solution.

I think that it is really too much!!!

Re: new rules about school admissions
 

As far as I know by now, these rules are confirmed.
So, be prepared to get the last two years school reports assessed by your national authority, then by the Qatar embassy in your country, then by SEC in Doha.

did you already apply to some school? do you have a place in a school?

good luck!!!

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Re: new rules about school admissions
 

dear All,

regarding the new rule that states that legalised school reports must be given to SEC offices, does anybody know at which SEC office the school report must be given, where it is and at which time are they open? or a phone number to call?

thank you a lot

Re: new rules about school admissions
 

I have another question please- what does "attested" actually mean ?
It could mean attested by a lawyer, or notarised by a lawyer,
Or does it mean "legalised" by the foreign office in country of origin ?

I am moving out end of August and want to get all this sorted before I go out

Re: new rules about school admissions
 

It means legalised...
It's all very confusing and I am going through it right now..
Pm me if you have any questions, I have had to have documents attested in the uk and Australia.
Basically the documents need the foreign office stamp and then they need to get to the Qatar embassy for another stamp

Elementary School Admissions
 

I have been offered a job in Qatar and am planning to move to Doha from US with wife and 2 elementary school going kids. Wife does not work and I will be the only bread earner. I wanted to seek help & guidance from the experts living or having resided recently in Qatar in similar shoes. I have been offered an all in all package by the employer where I would need to pay for my lodging and the kids schooling. Therefore I would need to be careful in selecting a moderate school for the kids right now. Since we are planning to move by end of Oct, 2014 does anyone know if I need to get the kids registration process early on and if they can be enrolled during the academic year. I would appreciate all the assistance from the experts and if they would share their experiences.
Thanks A Million!!!

Cheers
POB

Re: Elementary School Admissions
 

Hi pob,
Before you hand your notice in I would shortlist the schools you may be interested n..coming from the states I would assume you are wanting an American school. There are quite a few schools over here, all of which are private, unless I think you want them to go to an Arabic school. Schooling here is pricey and so is housing..I am here in doha and my family are soon to follow out, I have had to jump through hoops with the 2 schools that would consider allowing me get my kids name down on a wait list..lots of other schools simply said no..we are full and you can't even put your name down on the wait list....
Having said that, now I am here I have heard that one of the main reasons why school places are so hard to come by is because some of the big multi nationals here reserve places each year and pay schools a handsome $ amount to enable them to hold not them right up until the end of august , just before the schools go back in early September...invariably they don't need all places they have reserved as people come and go and then come early September there are usually places available if you are lucky.
Good luck with it all, it's a bit hectic getting al the paperwork together too that will require the Qatar embassy in your home country stamping school reports etc from your kids current schools, but it's straight forward enough when you get your head round it all...pm me if you have any questions and I will try to explain as best I can.

Re: Elementary School Admissions
 

dear, I am afraid that kids that come from abroad cannot be enrolled in the middle of the academic year.....inquire your employer about this, but the new rules of admission sadly state that.

Admission at school is a big trouble and you must start the process as soon as you can but I fear it is very difficult - if not impossible - to enrol them for this incoming year. try also to contact the US embassy in Doha, and see if they can support you with advices.

to get and Idea of the difficulties, search this forum. there are a lot of threads about school and you will find a lot of posts that can enlighten the situation to you

the best situation that I can see is that you come this year and your family will follow in august 2015, for starting school in sept 2015. application start from december for the following year, but the admission calendar differs from school to school

good luck
Primula

Re: new rules about school admissions
 

Is that 100% confirmed now about start dates for overseas kids having to be start of the school year ie sept ?

Re: new rules about school admissions
 

I did not heard of any retraction, so I assume it is still valid. Anyhow, I've learned that nothing is really sure in this country, so you would better talk directly to the school(s) where you want enroll your kids and ask them directly how do they behave....

Re: new rules about school admissions
 

I have just been offered a place for my son at Doha College, they start here on September 7th but my son won't be arriving until the end of September. They did not have any issue with that.
But as primularossa says it's probably best to contact the schools that you are interested in direct. I would not recommend just rocking up here and expecting to find a school then.
It's been a long hard struggle for me anyway!
Good luck

Re: new rules about school admissions
 

I think that the problem comes if you want to enrol the kids from the second term. If you pay now for the first term, it is ok with the rules.
my DD is in ACS. We did not even dare applying in DC as they said us that they don't take non-mothertongue kids.

ciao, Primula