Doha, November 24 (QNA) - The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE) opened Monday the Annual School Theater Festival 2025, which is organized by the Arts and Theater Department of the Educational Guidance Department.

Under the patronage of HE Minister of Education and Higher Education Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohammed Al Khater, this year's edition kicked off at U Venue Theater Al Rayan, in the presence of ministry leaders, department directors, heads of sections and a number of educational staff.

This year's festival is held under the theme "school theater ... nation's pulse," emphasizing the role of theater in enhancing the learner's personality, developing their creative abilities, and consolidating the values ​​of identity and belonging, in line with the ministry's directions to support the arts as an authentic educational path in the school environment.

Director of the Educational Guidance Department Maryam Al Numan said that educational theater is not a fleeting recreational activity, but rather an educational platform that combines art and knowledge, and translates educational goals into life situations that the student experiences with all his senses.

She added that the subject of theater education, as a modern course, is based on clear standards for developing skills in expression, teamwork, communication, and facing the audience, and for promoting the values ​​of citizenship, belonging, and cooperation through impactful artistic performances.

She emphasized that the festival provides a platform for discovering and developing talents, an opportunity for exchanging experiences between schools, teachers and students, and evidence of the role of theater in instilling values ​​of beauty, goodness and respect.

The opening ceremony featured a national heritage performance by Khawla Bint Al Azwar Primary School for Girls, marking the start of the final competitions, which will continue until Nov. 27, with the participation of eight schools that qualified from among 16 schools that participated in the preliminary rounds that began on Nov. 10.

The events include daily performances by three schools, and two schools on the day before the closing ceremony.

A specialized committee comprising pioneering artists and experts in educational theater evaluates the participating works to select the best eight performances according to criteria that include the quality of performance, script, direction, and scenography.

Through this festival, the MOEHE affirms its commitment to supporting the arts in the school environment and developing the students' personality and creative abilities to enhance the directions of Qatar National Vision 2030 toward building a knowledge-based and creative society. (QNA)