The Supreme Education Council (SEC) says it has so far received 90 requests for opening new private schools in the country, but only 26 of them met conditions so they have been given the approval.

The paperwork for final approval involves a long process as an application needs to be cleared by various government ministries and agencies.

Currently, there are 132 private schools in the country so their number needs to be raised in the next academic year that begins in September to cater to a rising population, the local Arabic daily Al Arab reported yesterday.

The new private schools to be opened in the next academic year are expected to provide more than 10,000 seats.

Among the new schools that are to be opened are five international ones.

Meanwhile, the daily said quoting SEC sources that 57 new schools are being added to the network of the Educational Voucher System from the next academic year (2014-15).

The voucher system is in place whereby the government pays a fixed sum annually to schools to cover tuition and other fees for Qatari students on their rolls. In the government schools that are popularly known as Independent Schools, education is free for Qatari students.