Deputy premier chairs meeting

Manama, July 1 (BNA): Deputy Premier Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa chaired at the Gudaibiya Palace today the third meeting of the Supreme Council for the Development of Education and Training. The panel reviewed the memorandum submitted by the National Authority for Qualifications and Quality Assurance of Education and Training (QQA) to the Cabinet on the results of the 19th batch of the review of the performance of education and training institutions, the results of the third batch of the 12th grade national exams, including 36 public schools and nine private ones, with the participation of about 10,000 students. The council was also informed about QQA’s report on the results of the seventh batch of the national examinations for third-grade students which covered 122 public schools and 16 private ones and included 12,000 students. Education Minister Dr. Majid bin Ali Al-Nuaimi briefed the session on the executive plan to improve the educational output, and upgrade the performance level, including enhancing the quality of education and school management and developing school curricula and teaching methods. The deputy premier affirmed the importance of fostering the values of citizenship and promoting the cultures of tolerance and fraternity among students through the development of school curricula and school activities that can help achieve those national goals. The panel also reviewed the Education Ministry’s participation in the IEA Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2015 aiming to assess the overall achievement of the fourth and eighth grade students in Maths and sciences. In 2011, Bahrain ranked among the first Arab counries in TIMSS. The session also discussed the resolutions of the High Education Council regarding high studies programmes in private universities. It also reviewed the progress of the implementation of the Labour Market’s Observatory project aiming to collect and analyse the labour market’s data in order to identify problems and address them. The deputy premier directed to evaluate the kingdom’s education and training process over the past decade in collaboration with an international house of experience.