Qatar’s Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) has signed contracts with four national companies to build and run four new private schools offering around 5,000 student places in total. Three will teach the Indian curriculum and one the Egyptian curriculum, but no opening date or fee has been announced, so families cannot enrol yet.
The Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported that the agreements were signed on Thursday, 22 October 2026, at the ministry’s headquarters in Doha. The schools will be built on government land in Al Wukair, Al Mansoura and Al Sailiya.
Who is Affected
Indian families are likely to take the most interest, since three of the four schools follow the Indian curriculum. The Egyptian-curriculum school adds capacity for families who follow that system.
All four schools will be co-educational and will take pupils at every educational stage. The ministry describes the fees as affordable, which points to households looking for lower-cost options rather than premium international schools.
Where The New Schools Will Be
QNA and Qatar Tribune named the four projects as follows:
- Indian Islamic School, Al Wukair (Indian curriculum)
- Cardiff International School, Al Wukair (Egyptian curriculum)
- Pearl Podar School, Al Mansoura (Indian curriculum)
- Al Zaytoun International School, Al Sailiya (Indian curriculum)
Officials said the sites were chosen after a study of population density and of how residents are distributed across the country. Al Wukair, south of Doha, gets two of the four schools. Al Mansoura is in central Doha and Al Sailiya lies to the west of the city.
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Who Attended The Signing
Minister of Education and Higher Education Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater attended, as did Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani and Eng. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Meer, President of the Public Works Authority (Ashghal). The ministry’s assistant undersecretary for private education affairs signed the contracts on the education minister’s behalf.
How The Partnership Model Works
The schools are public-private partnership projects. The state provides the land and supporting infrastructure. The private investors fund the schools, then design, build, operate and maintain them.
According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, investors are expected to spend about QR1.48 billion in capital and running costs over the 25-year life of the contracts. Ashghal, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the MoEHE ran the tenders together and evaluated the bids.
Incentives for investors
Officials set out the incentives Qatar offers private education investors at the signing. They include customs exemptions, exemption from electricity and water charges, land and school buildings, free textbooks and education vouchers for Qatari pupils.
Qatar’s Private School Sector
The ministry also gave figures for the sector as a whole. QNA reported that Qatar has 354 private schools and kindergartens teaching 25 different curricula, with more than 271,090 students and 25,372 staff.
What Families Should Do Now
None of the official statements gave an opening date, a construction timetable or tuition fees. The ministry called the fees affordable but published no figures. It also did not say how many places each school will have; the 5,000 figure covers all four together.
Families who need a place for the coming academic year should keep using existing schools for now. Admissions details are expected only once each operator is ready to open.
What Happens Next
The projects now move to design and construction. Qatar Tribune reported that Dr Rania Mohammed, who leads the national project for public-private partnerships and investment in private education, said further partnerships and initiatives would be announced soon.
The MoEHE said the programme supports Qatar National Vision 2030 and is meant to widen the range of schools available to residents.
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FAQs
When will Qatar’s four new private schools open?
No opening date has been announced. Officials have not published a construction timetable, so families should not expect to enrol yet.
Which curricula will the new schools teach?
Three schools will teach the Indian curriculum and one, Cardiff International School in Al Wukair, will follow the Egyptian curriculum, according to QNA and Qatar Tribune.
How much will the fees be?
The ministry describes the fees as affordable but has not published any figures. Fee details are expected to come from each operator closer to opening.
Where are the new schools being built?
Two are in Al Wukair, one is in Al Mansoura and one is in Al Sailiya. The sites were chosen after a study of population density and distribution.
