Qatar Foundation’s Pre-University Education (PUE) sector is prepared to welcome 9,434 students for the 2026–2027 academic year across its network of 15 schools and education centres. Abeer al-Khalifa, president of PUE, confirmed readiness following extensive preparations involving planning, policy updates, educational content enhancement, and operational arrangements, aiming to ensure a smooth start to the academic year.
The student body represents 56 nationalities, with Qatari students comprising over 92 percent (8,735) of the total enrollment. This year, 1,197 students joined pre-kindergarten programs, including Awsaj Academy’s Prime Programme and the Academic Bridge Programme, while 833 students were newly enrolled in regular academic stages.
PUE’s workforce consists of 1,885 employees from 70 different nationalities, with 950 teachers and learning leaders directly engaged in schools. A total of 1,731 employees serve in teaching and educational roles. The foundation emphasized recruitment quality, filling 97 percent of available teaching positions before the academic year began by hiring approximately 200 new educators.
Al-Khalifa highlighted four primary areas of focus during preparations: school planning—with ongoing performance assessments and targeted feedback; policy reviews, including a mobile-phone-free campus policy; educational content and facility development—marked by the opening of Qatar Academy Sidra’s new building and the introduction of new Arabic-language assessment tools and Islamic civilisation courses; and overall operational readiness.
Leadership and staff capacity building were prioritized through school leadership restructuring, role redefinitions, and professional development closely linked to performance outcomes. Approximately 950 teachers and learning leaders participated in training programs covering digital literacy, artificial intelligence aligned with Qatar’s 2026–2030 AI strategy, inclusive education practices through Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and the Sanad inclusion framework, as well as initiatives aimed at enhancing Arabic language quality and cultural identity.
Al-Khalifa also outlined mechanisms designed to regulate student distribution and manage classroom density. These include a centralized admissions system guided by a unified policy applied network-wide, capacity planning based on space and program requirements, demand management through diverse educational options, and continuous monitoring of classroom occupancy linked to capital planning. In response to recurring capacity challenges at certain locations, solutions include expanding physical space or redistributing students rather than increasing class sizes.
The foundation’s integrated system offers multiple educational pathways tailored to student needs, which reduces pressure on individual schools. Among the strategic priorities for the year is expanding International Baccalaureate programme options to further diversify academic offerings.
Qatar Foundation continues to enhance its institutional measurement framework by tracking academic achievement and stakeholder perceptions, with an additional focus on developing indicators for educational outcome quality. This ongoing evaluation is part of QF’s commitment to sustained readiness and success beyond the start of the academic year.