Due to conditions related to coronavirus pandemic and the increase in number of Covid-19 cases in the community, Ministry of Education and Higher Education have decided to adopt distance learning and suspend attendance of all students in all public and private universities, schools and kindergartens in Qatar, as of Sunday, April 4, 2021.

Schools, kindergartens, and public and private universities in Qatar will "switch to distance learning" the Ministry of Education and Higher Education confirmed on Thursday.

“In view of the health conditions related to the coronavirus pandemic, and the increasing number of cases of COVID-19 in the community, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (has) decided to adopt a distance learning system and suspend the attendance of all students in all public universities, schools and kindergartens, and private ones in Qatar, as of Sunday, April 4, 2021,” an official statement said.

This decision comes after coordination with the Ministry of Public Health and pursuant to the precautionary and preventive measures and measures required by the public interest and taking into account the health of students, teaching and administrative staff alike.

In this context, it has been decided that the administrative and educational staff will continue to attend schools, and exams for students for all stages will be conducted in the educational buildings in the presence of them, as the measures that will be taken in this regard will be announced at a later time.

The ministry stressed that the distance education system is an integral part of the educational process and academic achievement, and the attendance and absence system for students will be adopted in this system. It called on students to fully adhere to following lessons remotely and not to be complacent. It also urged parents to ensure that their children attended the lessons conducted remotely and that they had appropriate educational environment at home.

The ministry said distance learning system, which was trialled in the last academic year following the COVID-19 outbreak, was an ideal option, given the circumstances.