Qatar teachers in hot seat

Teachers from schools across Qatar Doha - Arabstoday Qatar's independent school teachers will have to pass a test that will determine whether they will be able to keep their job. All teachers must sit for the eligibility exam, regardless of their age and experience, and will have three chances to prove their aptitudes, Arabic daily Al Arab reported on Monday. The decision was taken at a reportedly stormy meeting between Supreme Education Council officials, and the principals and license owners of the independent schools who reportedly opposed the new measure. A principal, upset over the licensure test decision, said that it amounted to a conspiracy against Qatari teachers, the daily said, citing sources it did not name. Some principals said that it was morally wrong to make teachers with more than 20 years of experience sit for tests. A principal said that the decision targeted teachers, the weakest link in the learning process, and ignored amending the students' discipline charter and respect for teachers. Another criticism leveled at the decision was linked to its timing. "This should have been decided at the beginning of the academic year, not after schools signed one-year contracts with teachers and they passed through the probation period successfully," a principal said. "This new condition will certainly put a lot of pressure on teachers worried about the test and this in turn will affect their performance and will lower the education and learning process," another principal said, quoted by the daily.