It is estimated that Qatar’s total gross enrollment ratio increased from 62.5% in 2016 to 70.9% in 2021.

Qatar recorded the second most substantial increase in student enrolment among the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9% from 2016 to 2021, a recent report found.

This year, the Gulf nation has allocated 9% of its overall budget to education, which is slightly higher than the allotment made in 2022, as indicated by Alpen Capital in its most recent report ‘GCC Education Industry‘.

“The Qatari government has consistently demonstrated its commitment to support education through its budget statements. The allocation of funds aligns with the nation’s objective to enhance the education sector through the expansion and advancement of schools and educational institutions,” the report highlighted.

As a component of the Qatar Public-Private Partnership Schools Development Programme, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, revealed its keenness to establish 45 schools using a PPP model over a span of five years, in 2019.

The construction of schools is scheduled in six stages, with the initial phase seeing the establishment of eight schools in 2021, followed by six to eight schools in each subsequent phase by 2022-2023.

Among the eight schools in the first phase, five commenced operations at the start of the 2022-23 academic year. Each of these five schools have the capacity to accommodate 786 students.

Utilising the design, build, finance, operation, maintenance and transfer of the model, the project’s estimated cost stands at approximately four billion riyals, as outlined by Alpen Capital.

The total count of students enrolled in kindergarten through to twelfth grade (K-12) and higher education across the nation is projected to have reached 378,297 in 2021.

The country’s overall gross enrolment ratio (GER) is believed to have risen from 62.5% in 2016 to 70.9% in 2021, primarily propelled by increased enrollments in the primary, secondary and tertiary education segments.

Together, the primary and secondary education sectors comprised more than 86.8% of all student enrollments within the K-12 education system, achieving a GER of 102.2% for primary education and 101.7% for secondary education in 2021.

Enrolments in primary and secondary education witnessed growth rates of 3.2% and 5.7% respectively, between 2016 and 2021.

Over the five-year span, the tertiary education sector is estimated to have expanded by a CAGR of 7.5%.

The total count of K-12 enrolments is projected to have increased with a CAGR of 3.6% over the same five-year period, although the proportion of K-12 enrolments relative to total enrolments experienced a slight decrease from 90.9% in 2016 to 89.2% in 2021.

As of 2021, private schools are believed to make up 59.8% of the overall K-12 enrolments in Qatar.

Between 2016 and 2021, the private school sector’s enrolment in the K-12 segment is estimated to have grown at a CAGR of 3.1%, while public school sector enrolments expanded at a CAGR of 4.3%, Alpen Capital detailed.