By Joseph Varghese
Staff Reporter

The new guidelines that the Supreme Education Council (SEC) has issued for registration of students in private schools provide flexibility and more convenience for parents and educational institutions apart from bringing in uniformity to the process.
“The SEC’s decisions will definitely make life easier for parents, especially since they have eased the norms for transfer of students from one school to another and that for equivalency certificate,” a parent told Gulf Times yesterday, echoing the sentiments of many others.
The new set of rules also makes it clear that schools will have to announce the number of vacancies for each academic year in advance and admit the students within the period of time specified by the SEC.
No student shall be registered over and above a school’s capacity unless an approval is obtained from the SEC. The school’s capacity is calculated according to the report produced by the SEC.
All private schools are required to identify the number of vacancies before the registration period begins and after the completion of the process. The SEC should also be informed about it at the specified time. All private schools must make use of the student database system to enter the registrations, the removal of a registered name, transfers and certification.
Expatriate students in the country can now be enrolled directly in private schools without the need of equivalency certificate. This has reduced several tedious procedures for the parents of the students seeking admission in private schools.
“The requirement of equivalency certificate had been a major headache for expatriate parents and thankfully; the SEC has done away with it finally,” observed a parent.
However, for national students moving from a private or international education system to the Qatari independent school sector, a copy of all final reports and  certificates from the previous school must be authenticated by the SEC’s Attestation and Equivalency Unit.
Similarly, parents can hereafter transfer their children between private schools without the SEC’s  permission  if there are vacancies at the appropriate level in the receiving school.
The move to allow parents to place a child at a class with older or younger children will help them substantially. There have been many cases where parents had difficulty in getting admission for their children to a particular class due to difference in age stipulated for a particular class.
Another regulation is that private schools which provide modified and alternative study methods to address the learning needs of students such as vocational courses and special needs programmes should seek the SEC’s  approval if this is different from the agreed education plan for the school.
“It is heartening that the SEC has addressed some of the major concerns of parents,” added another parent.