Additional reporting by Riham Sheble
A married couple has been arrested by the Capital Security Police for running an illegal nursery from their apartment, the Ministry of Interior (MOI) announced.
Authorities said the arrested individuals are “Arab” but did not specify their nationality.
The man and his wife charged parents QR500 a month to look after their children from the unlicensed premises in Al Sadd where they were living with their own children.
Police were alerted to the situation by a woman of the same nationality as the nursery owners, who filed an official complaint after she discovered the couple had been beating her four-year-old child while in their care.
On investigation, police found that the daycare was not licensed, and was in violation of Law no. 1 of 2014, which regulates all nursery schools in Qatar.
The husband admitted that his wife had put an advert in local newspapers announcing spaces in the nursery, at a cost of QR500 monthly, and had several children registered.
The case has been referred to the public prosecutor for further legal action, the MOI added in a statement.
The Ministry appealed to parents not to enroll children in illegal nurseries “for the sake of the safety of children and to provide the appropriate conditions for the development of their skills, using sound education and taking into account security and safety standards.” It also urged parents to report any day care establishments they believed were operating without a license.
Regulations
Qatar authorities have tightened regulations governing nurseries and childcare establishments following the fire at Villaggio Mall in 2012, in which 19 people died, including 13 children who were in a day care facility.
The current law, introduced in January 2014, requires all nurseries to be licensed with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. To register, nursery owners must have a clean criminal record and should leave a QR100,000 security deposit, which will be returned when the license is terminated, minus any fines for violations of the law.
Any nursery that operates without a valid licence will be fined up to QR100,000, and its owner could face a jail term of up to two years.
Since the law came into effect, nurseries have faced an increasing number of new regulations such as only being allowed to operate on the ground floor of a building and not accepting children older than four years old.
They are also required to employ several professionals, including a nutritionist. Nursery managers and owners report they are regularly inspected by Ministry officials to ensure they comply with the law.
These requirements can be expensive to implement, and some official nurseries have said they have been forced to hike their fees and other charges as a means of covering their rising costs.
This incident again raises the issue of the cost of child care in Qatar. With most licensed nursery fees well in excess of QR500 a month, some parents say they have no option but to look for other, more affordable options which may be unofficial and unregulated.
Thoughts?
Let’s play the game of guess the nationality … Hehe
The Arabic papers posted a pic of the apartment inside … Looked like a chinese sweat shop..
Link please??
http://www.raya.com/news/pages/bece18f6-8cd1-4341-b1de-727884d4f076
Egyptians
You girls are really obsessed with me. LOL. Are you hot? If not forget about it.
Still not sure why you think I’m Egyptian but I don’t consider it an insult to call me one. Certainly not like Gulfie would be an insult in Cairo.
hahahahah true desertcard, he knows his nationality well 🙂
Its just a tip of the iceberg. There could be many like this out here
Although I wouldn’t put my child in an unlicensed nursery, with the high cost and limited spaces in nurseries some parents don’t have a choice especially those that are dependent on both parent’s income.
Daycare isn’t cheap and most jobs here do not have on site daycares.
Why are you in Qatar if that is the case. Surely for the sake of your kids it would be better to be back home within family support.
I don’t have any kids. So daycare is not an issue for me. But all of my friends have kids and I see how so me of them have struggled to find proper daycare for their children.
I wasn’t saying you specifically but anyone in that situation
MIMH, that is a very insensitive and judgmental remark. Many people need 2 incomes to support themselves and to earn enough for their future. It is not the guest workers’ fault if Qatar’s social infrastructure is inferior. Qatar is an extremely unfair and difficult place to live and work in.
Why stay if it causes you that many problems. If you are Qatari its different you have nowhere to go so complain away.
If I invite you to my house for dinner I don’t expect you to complain about the food. Just don’t come again
What a petulant answer. Real mature.
Really? Does Qatar owe you a living?
When Qatar wants to have all the big boys’ toys(Metro, Expressways, etc.) it must act like one and ensure the people who are building them get a fair deal. Little things like enough taxis, day-cares, flexible house rental contracts… . Anyone who has worked in other GCC countries will swear this is the toughest place to live in. Again, I know what your response is going to be” if you don’t like it….”. I know you are just a bitter person on the internet and your opinions are luckily not Qatari policy.
No not bitter at all. I just know if I wasn’t happy then I would change my situation. Same for Qatar, if they couldn’t attract the people then they would have to offer what these people need.
wow this is beyond horrible
Not really. Consider it as leaving your kid with your neighbor. It is very common in many places in the Arab world. That said it would still be better to find a solution to the soaring fees of nurseries so that everyone can have the opportunity to leave their kids in a decent nursery.
you wouldnt pay your neighbour for them to take care of you kid.
If it is once in a while yes, but not 5 days a week as even the kindest neighbour will be fed up at some point : )
At home care is common in NZ too, it’s semi regulated however that the stay at home mums must do some courses like first aid, max numbers etc. I think these types of business will always be around given they were only charging 500 compared to the very large costs of the professional outfits.
I expect they’ll be released from prison and be named ambassadors to Belgium while waiting for trial…
Well done Qatar. Rules worth enforcing.
Unfortunately the focus is not on the quality of the teachers in the nursery/day care. Was shocked at the quality during the PT meeting. So am i paying QAR 2,000 per month for a nutritionist? First aid training can be provided – do not need a full time nurse.
Unlicensed nurseries have 3-4 kids vs much more in licensed ones – more focus on the child.
Licensed nurseries are now mostly money minded – obviously they have to recover the costs.
“for the sake of the safety of children and to provide the appropriate conditions for the development of their skills, using sound education and taking into account security and safety standards.” – thank god official ones don’t burst into flames and trap kids inside…oh wait…