Education investment aims to improve Bahrain's schools and attainment levels

With the first modern school in the Gulf set up in the country in 1919 and the first girls’ school opened in 1928, Bahrain has one of the longest histories of education in the region. Successive governments have made education a priority, and Bahrain is today home to a comprehensive education system, from nurseries to universities. The country achieved universal enrolment decades ago, and the focus now is on reforming the system to cement Bahrain’s position as a leading centre for business – and education itself – in the Gulf.

Background

Education forms a key component of Bahrain’s long-term development strategy, Economic Vision 2030. Many of the industries that the authorities wish to bring to Bahrain or expand (such as financial services) depend on a highly educated workforce. Furthermore, education itself has grown into a considerable industry in the Gulf; a 2014 report from regional investment bank Alpen Capital notes that the GCC is set to witness a recurring spend of $150bn on education over the next few years. Such an emphasis will help address shortcomings with the country’s education framework. While all Bahrainis now pass through school, the education system was developed with an earlier era in mind, and as a result, graduates may find that their skill sets do not always match employer expectations. As such, a main focus for the authorities is to address the challenge of unemployment among Bahraini nationals by refining the education system to produce higher quality outcomes, and better match skills to labour market requirements.

Numbers

Education in Bahrain is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 14, either at state schools or private institutions that have been inspected and licensed to operate by the Ministry of Education (MoE). According to World Bank indicators, 21% of the population was under the age of 15 in 2014, and Alpen estimates that around 19% of the total population is enrolled in education. In terms of enrolment, figures from the Central Informatics Organisation (CIO), Bahrain’s statistics body, show that in 2013 the kingdom had 129,000 pupils in 206 government schools, and 85,000 students in 213 private schools. Of the state schools, some 110 were primary facilities, 21 were combined primary and middle schools, 37 were middle schools, 35 were secondary schools and 3 were religious institutes. World Bank data suggest that Bahrain spent 8.9% of its budget on education in 2012, equal to around 2.6% of GDP. The MoE’s own figures show that its budget in 2014 (including capital spending on projects) was BD347m ($914.2m), up from BD342m ($901m) the previous year.

In the World Economic Forum’s 2014-15 Global Competitiveness Index, Bahrain ranked 44th out of 144 countries, with its score on health and primary education coming in slightly higher (40th), but ranking lower in higher education and training, at 55th. In the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) evaluation, which takes place every four years, most recently in 2011, Bahrain achieved 436 out of a possible 500 points at the Grade 4 Mathematics level, and 406 points at Grade 8.

Framework

The National Authority for Qualifications and Quality Assurance of Education and Training (generally known by the acronym QQA for short) is the government body responsible for monitoring the retooling of the education system to raise quality. It emerged as part of the educational reforms of 2005, becoming a permanent body in 2008. It collaborates with a number of different ministries and government agencies, such as the Ministry of Labour, the MoE and the Economic Development Board (EDB) in pursuance of the goals of Economic Vision 2030. The QQA’s remit is to inspect and review all levels of education in Bahrain. This review encompasses assessments of matters such as classroom management, school leadership and guidance, among other areas, with the results published openly and accessible online. In 2012 that remit was expanded to cover regular reviews of national exam results for grades 3, 6, 9 and 12. The QQA is in the process of introducing a new framework for the education system, the national qualification framework, to cover primary, secondary, vocational and higher education. The framework uses a points system to benchmark qualifications, allowing for comparisons with other education systems, similar to that in use in the EU, which allocates points for a given level of qualifications. To date, the body has completed two review cycles, with results proving to be mixed: the number of schools judged outstanding has risen from 4% to 7%, and the number deemed inadequate has risen from 21% to 25%.

State Schools

The Bahraini education system, similar to many others across the Arab world, is centralised, with the MoE retaining control over matters such as administrative appointments. It is divided into three stages: primary, middle and secondary. Primary education lasts for six years, between the ages of 6 and 11, although pupils cannot move on from primary education until they have acquired complete literacy in Arabic. Middle school is three years, from ages 12 to 14. It is followed by secondary education, which is not compulsory but is attended by almost all pupils, and which runs for three years from the age of 15 to 17. Bahrain is in the process of implementing a new structure for secondary education, dividing it into a unified track and a vocational track, with the former further segmented to offer pupils the choice of specialisation in literary, scientific or commercial streams. The vocational track will offer applied vocational, technical vocational and apprenticeship streams. Arabic is the official language of instruction at all levels in state schools, but English education is compulsory from the first grade of primary school.

In the 2013/14 academic year, MoE statistics show that there were 103,000 primary pupils in Bahrain, of which 67,000 attended government schools and 36,000 private schools; 45,000 middle school pupils, of which 33,000 attended government school and 12,000 private; and 34,000 pupils at secondary school, of which 25,000 attended government schools and around 10,000 private schools. Some 34,423 children were enrolled in nursery schools and kindergartens in Bahrain in the 2013/14 academic year, when the country counted 111 kindergartens, 18 combined nurseries and kindergartens, and 20 nurseries. Figures from Alpen Capital put the enrolment rate for the various stages of education in Bahrain in 2012 as follows: pre-primary, 49.8%; primary, 107.3%; secondary, 95.5; and tertiary, 33.5%.

Private Schools

Bahrain is also home to a large number of expatriates (over half of the population in 2013), whose education is not paid for by the Bahraini government. As such, private schools cater to their needs. In 2013/14, Bahrain had 73 non-nursery private schools with 85,000 pupils and 6000 teachers, according to CIO figures. Private schools tend to follow the curricula of other countries: English, American, Indian and French, as well as several that follow the curricula of other Arab countries. Many Bahraini parents also choose private education due to its perceived higher quality, the offer of more extracurricular activities and the opportunity to become proficient in a foreign language. However, private schools do not necessarily equate to higher quality; the incidence of public schools classified as outstanding by the QQA is about twice that for private schools. Still, Alpen Capital figures show that the rate of enrolment in private schools in Bahrain rose from 20% in 2008 to 26% in 2012. The oldest private school in Bahrain is the Sacred Heart School, founded in the 1950s to cater to the children of expatriate workers in the oil sector and follows a British curriculum.

Broadly speaking, schools that follow a Western curriculum tend to enjoy the highest status and therefore command the highest fees, followed by Arab and Asian schools. However, private education comes at a much lower price in Bahrain than in some other Gulf countries. A 2015 report from Kuwait Finance Centre (Markaz) found that Bahrain’s private schools charged the lowest tuition fees of any country in the GCC; average school fees were $7200 a year in Bahrain, compared to $8300 a year in the next-most-affordable country, Qatar, and $10,250 a year in the UAE, the most expensive. For the final year of school the difference was even more marked, with year-12 fees in Bahrain averaging $10,800, compared with $13,200 in Qatar and $18,200 in the UAE.

Public Universities

Today there are two public universities in Bahrain, the University of Bahrain (UoB) and Arabian Gulf University. The first public higher education institute in Bahrain, Gulf Technical College, opened in 1968 and was followed by others, including the Colleges of Health Sciences in 1976. In 1984 these colleges were combined into UoB. During the first semester of the 2014/15 academic year there were more than 20,000 students enrolled at UoB, of which 65% were female and around 90% were Bahrainis. In 2012 there were 2080 staff, with 880 were faculty members. The university consists of 10 colleges and 20 specialised centres, and offers 83 academic programmes, including 16 Masters of Science programmes and six doctoral programmes.

The university has three campuses: a main one at Sakhir, home to seven of the university’s colleges, a second at Isa Town for the Colleges of Engineering and Applied Science (shared with Bahrain Polytechnic), and one at Salmaniya that is home to the College of Health Sciences. In April 2015 Bahrain’s parliament approved construction of a new UoB campus in Muharraq, with the final allocation of funding to be determined as part of the 2017 budget.

Arabian Gulf University opened in 1979 as an institute of higher education co-owned by all Gulf states and open to any Gulf national. It brings together the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences; the College of Graduate Studies, which covers a variety of specialisations; and the French Arabian Business School, founded in 2007 in partnership with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2012 about 80 students graduated from the postgraduate college and around 115 from the medical college.

Private Universities

In addition to the state higher education system, there have been private universities in Bahrain since 2001, when Ahlia University and University College of Bahrain (UCB) opened. Some of the private facilities are profitable enterprises, while others are collaborations with overseas institutions. The trend in private universities came on the heels of a sharp rise in demand for higher education resulting from a demographic bulge that UoB was not able to meet by itself. There was initially confusion surrounding ownership and governance arrangements at a number of private universities, but this was clarified by the establishment in 2007 of the Higher Education Council (HEC), which regulates, promotes and monitors tertiary education. All private institutions now require a licence from the HEC and must adhere to certain standards of governance. The QQA reviews the quality of education on offer. Fees are not controlled, but admission criteria must be shared with the HEC and followed once put in place.

Ahlia offers 17 degrees in subjects such as IT, business and engineering in six colleges, with around 25,000 students at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. UCB focuses on business, IT and graphic design, all taught in English. Strathclyde Business School has had a teaching centre for its MBA programme in Bahrain since 1995. In 2014 the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland opened a medical school – Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Medical University Bahrain (RCSI-MUB) – which trains doctors, nursing staff and hospital managers at the graduate and postgraduate levels. The bulk of its teaching staff is from Ireland or the UK, and it attracts students from over 30 countries. In 2015 RCSI-MUB launched its first doctoral programme. There is also a women-only college, the Royal University for Women (RUW), founded in 2005. RUW features colleges of art and design, law, IT, business and general studies. Its degrees were designed with academic input from McGill University in Canada and Middlesex University in the UK. In 2013/14 RUW enrolled 662 students.

Foreign Students

Bahrain has significant potential to establish itself as a regional centre for higher education. The majority of foreign students in Bahrain come from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, though there are also students from further afield, such as the US and Canada. By regional standards Bahrain has a relatively low cost of living, which helps to attract students, as well as a history of commitment to high quality education.

Research

One area of higher education that remains less developed is research, with most graduate degrees taught rather than research-based. “In general, higher education in the Arab world is behind the global level,” Ghassan F Aouad, president at Applied Science University, told OBG. “A large component of this is related to the low research and development expenditure we see in the region.” In the case of Bahrain, the spending level reflects the relatively recent founding of many universities, as well as the lack of a large funding pool. However, steps being made to build up this area are beginning to pay off. The Global Competitiveness Index for 2014-15 shows an improvement in the quality of research institutes and increases in company research budgets. The UoB offers doctoral programmes and spends roughly BD3m ($7.9m) annually on research and development. RCSI-MUB has started to offer scholarships for research into areas such as non-communicable diseases. “The relative lack of medical research has been an impediment to attracting skilled medical personnel to Bahrain, but we are attempting to change this by developing a research pillar,” Stephen Harrison-Mirfield, chief operating officer of RCSI-MUB, told OBG.

Vocational Education

“Bahrainisation” is a priority for the government, as it aims to place more Bahrainis into the labour market. A quota system ensures that a set number of Bahrainis are employed, depending on the skill set of a given job or industry demands. However, such a system can only succeed over the long term if Bahrainis have the right skills to take up posts, and vocational training has therefore assumed a greater importance. The government levies a monthly charge on employers of BD10 ($26) per expatriate worker, which goes to fund training for Bahrainis.

Tamkeen, the government training fund, works with employers to place Bahrainis into in-house or on-the-job training schemes, leading ultimately to full-time employment. In 2014 Tamkeen spent over BD14m ($36.9m) helping some 10,000 individuals, and provided BD39m ($102.8m) in support to businesses. As the government refines the new vocational track, the needs for such schemes is likely to fall away over the medium term. However, in the near term there is significant demand for the initiative. In addition to Tamkeen, Bahrain also has several specialised training institutes offering professional qualification or courses for specific industries (see analysis).

Ensuring that skills match labour market needs is key to Bahrainisation targets. To that end, in 2015 the HEC produced its first industry and graduate skills guide, which lays out the key skills, qualifications and competencies required by employers for 15 economic sectors. It is designed to be a catalyst for curriculum reform and should help close the gap between higher education and employers’ needs.

Gender Gap

Bahrain has a long tradition of female participation in education, with the first girls’ school dating back to the 1920s. In 2010 Bahrain became the first Arab country to realise its commitment to equality in education, according the UNESCO Education for All Development Index. Currently, women outperform their male peers at all levels of education and form a majority of students in higher education. Indeed, women now account for 35% of the workforce and dominate certain professions, such as teaching, where around two-thirds of teachers employed by the MoE are female. In vocational education, Tamkeen reports more or less gender parity, with women constituting 48% of participants in its schemes.

E-Learning

Although traditional teaching methods remain common in most Bahraini schools, with an emphasis on rote learning, several schemes are under consideration to improve the learning experience. These include a possible move to e-textbooks and electronic submission of homework. In February 2015 Bahrain signed an Education Transitional Agreement with Microsoft to make better use of technology in schools (see analysis).

Outlook

The government continues to exert strong efforts to improve education, with a particular focus on the school system. Demand for private schooling is set to rise as Bahrain’s growing economy brings in more expatriates, but improvements in the public schools, and the open nature of school reports, may see a slowdown in demand from Bahraini nationals. Vocational training is witnessing robust demand, with support from both the government and the private sector. Higher education is likely to see an increase in private sector enrolment as demand rises. Although the forthcoming UoB campus may blunt this trend, private sector provision is likely to maintain its edge.