MP seeks continued support for university students over the age of 18 until graduation

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Students over the age of 18 may continue to receive social support while studying at university, under a proposed change to Bahrain’s Social Insurance Law that will come before Parliament. The amendment, put forward by MP Jalal Kadhem Mahfoodh, would scrap a clause in the existing law that ties eligibility for those above that age to a lack of financial backing.

Instead, any student still working toward their first university degree would be covered, regardless of whether they have family support or assets.

The draft also changes the wording of Article Six to ensure that people with a financially capable relative who is legally responsible for them are generally excluded, although one group listed in Clause Eight of Article Three would remain exempt.

Purpose A document attached to the proposal sets out its purpose in plain terms: to keep young people in education without pushing families to pull them out early because of household expenses.

“[The proposal] aims to enable the youth to continue their education in a stable environment until graduation,” it reads.

Dropping out to take up work too soon, it says, “has a negative impact on their academic, professional, and social future”.

The paper also argues that allowing students to finish their studies without disruption would help shape a generation ready to take on a wider range of jobs and ease financial stress on homes that are already stretched.

Stable setting

It speaks of creating a more stable setting for learning and says the change would help the government make better use of young people’s abilities in future.

Parliamentary rules give MPs the right to suggest new laws, and if the chamber agrees, the government is then required to turn the text into a formal bill and hand it back within six months.

The current proposal is expected to follow that route.