Construction of new building for Sri Lankan school in Doha begins

The much anticipated groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of constructing a new building for Stafford Sri Lankan School Doha was held in Doha.

The event was held on Friday (December 14) at the land allocated by the government of Qatar for the construction of Sri Lankan community school in Thumama area in Doha, Qatar, The Peninsula newspaper reported.

The ceremony was graced by Ibrahim Yousif Abdullah Fakhro, Chief of Protocol, Ministry Foreign Affairs, Dr Ibrahim bin Saleh bin Khalifa Al Nuaimi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Tariq Abdullah Al Abdullah, Minister’s Advisor for Private Schools, Hamad Mohammed Al Ghali, Director of Private Schools Licensing Office, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Qatar A S P Liyanage and several others.

A plaque was unveiled by the guests prior to the groundbreaking ceremony. Roshan Sanjaya Balasooriya, Chairman, Stafford Sri Lankan School Doha and Sivapragasam Sivam, Principal of the school were also present.

“A school is not merely a building, its culmination of several things. I look forward seeing a fully fledged school soon on this empty land,” said Dr Al Nuaimi addressing hundreds of students, parents, teachers and Sri Lankan expatriates who were gathered at the event.

Speakers termed the groundbreaking ceremony as a ‘historical event’ for the Sri Lankan community and students in Doha.

They emphasised on the importance of new school building to meet the growing demand of students.

Stafford Sri Lankan School Doha, a non-profitable community school, was established for the children of Sri Lankan expatriates living in Qatar, under the patronage and supervision of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Doha in 2001. Stafford Sri Lankan School Doha is affiliated with the embassy.

Around 1,400 students are enrolled at Stafford Sri Lankan School Doha at present. Most of them are from the Sri Lankan community but students from other nationalities like Bangladeshi and Nigerian etc. are also studying there, according to the ambassador.At present Stafford Sri Lankan School, Doha is functioning in a rented building and will move to the new place after completion of new buildings for the school. The new building will be constructed in 10,000 square meters plot of land.