Education System in Bahrain

Education is one of the driving forces leading to development in Bahrain. The country includes both government and private Schools, as well as Higher Education Institutes. The Ministry of Education is a responsible authority for administration of education in Bahrain at all levels. 

The School Education System includes 9 years of basic education and 3 years of secondary education in different streams. Basic education is compulsory in Bahrain for children aged 6 to 14 years.

Primary Stage-  Primary stage consists of children from 6 to 11 years old. It is divided over two cycles of 3 grades each, that is, Lower Primary and Upper Primary. In the lower primary level, a single teacher teaches most of the subjects, except English language, design and technology, music education, and physical education. In the upper primary level, the teacher system is applied, whereby each subject is taught by a teacher who has specialized in a specific discipline, and obtained educational academic qualifications. The curriculum in primary schools include Islamic Education, Arabic, English, Science and Technology, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Physical Education, Family Education, Art, Music and Songs.

Intermediate Stage-  This stage consists of children from 12 to 14 years old. The curriculum at this level stretches up to 3 years. Completion of minimum 6 grades is compulsory to join intermediate school. Subject is taught by a teacher who has specialized in a specific discipline, and obtained appropriate academic qualifications. The curriculum for this stage includes compulsory common subjects, including: Islamic Education, Arabic, English, Science and Technology, Mathematics, Social Studies, Handcrafts and Physical Education.

Secondary Stage: This stage prepares students to join Universities, Higher Education Institutes and Technical Education, which helps them to earn a livelihood for themselves. Children of 15 to 17 years of age study at this stage. The course duration is 3 years which is divided into 6 semesters. And a successful completion of the intermediate stage or its equivalent is a must to join the first semester of secondary education.

Bahrain has one of the most developed Education Systems in the Gulf, as it has made advances in the use of Information Technology in schools. Moreover, King Hamad bin Khalifa Al Khalifa introduced a new kind of project, named King Hamad Schools of Future. This project aims to connect and link all schools within the kingdom of internet and introduce the idea of education everywhere.

Higher Education in Bahrain

Higher Education in Bahrain comes under the administration of Higher Education Council of the Ministry of Education, Kingdom of Bahrain. The council is responsible to prepare strategic policies regarding Higher Education and Research as well as implementation of these policies through Higher Education Institutes and Universities based in Bahrain. Further, funds for Higher Education mainly sourced through Government, however, private partnership is equally encouraged. The council has three directorates to look after education affairs, which are namely,

• Accreditation and Licensing Directorate
  
• Evaluation and Follow up Directorate
  
• Scientific Research Directorate.

The council reports Government about the performance of Higher Education Institutions and suggests various measures for improvements to the Ministry of Education. Furthermore, all the Institutes whether Government owned or Privately owned, offer programs on the guidelines of Higher Education Council.

Higher education in Bahrain is available at many levels such as, Post Secondary Education, College Education, Post Graduate Education and Research Programs that offer Certificates, Diplomas and Degrees. Higher education programs in Bahrain are offered in different fields such as Humanities, Engineering, Legal, Finance, Arts, Technology, Healthcare, Management, Tourism etc.