Education

As a central pillar of the reforms outlined in Economic Vision 2030, the Bahraini government’s long-term development plan, education plays a key role in the economy. Indeed, having recognised the importance of human capital development, the government has taken significant steps in recent years to improve its public schools and higher education institutions. These include reform efforts at the school level, most notably through the School Improvement Programme (SIP) and the move to develop a new curriculum. One aspect of the country’s approach to education that is distinctive and commendable is the fact that it is largely “home-grown”, centred around empowering locals and using local leadership. At the same time, regulatory organisations keep a close eye on the system to ensure the provision of quality education, both by public and private sector institutions. Taken together, recent educational reform efforts should ultimately help to make Bahrainis more competitive in the workplace, as well as provide additional employment opportunities. This chapter includes an interview with Sheikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, Executive Director, inJAz Bahrain.