MoE denies tasking teachers ‘to cover irrelevant subjects’

The Ministry of Education has denied tasking teachers to educate students with subjects irrelevant to their academic field. It stated that the newly recruited instructors were temporarily assigned to teach materials linked to their university studies.  “We have put a comprehensive plan to cover our requirements for the new academic year, putting into consideration the needed number of teachers,” Fawaz Al Shurooqi, Head of the Public Relations Department at the ministry said in a statement issued.  

“We have hired many Bahraini teachers this year to fill the gap and we have been wisely using them in order to ensure classes are all attended by teachers. “We wanted to make the best use of the teachers’ skills in the fields that are suitable to their qualifications and experiences as well as the training courses and programmes under their belt.” This came after MP Hamad Al Kooheji claimed that new teachers at the Ministry of Education have been requested to teach students subjects that were unrelated to their academic qualifications. 

“The Ministry of Education has taken into consideration many criterion that help the teachers in their roles such as the selection of the teacher to cover an additional subject that is close to what he studied as per the requirements of the ministry; for example Islamic teachers are sometimes handpicked to teach Arabic in the primary phase only and temporary due to their strong language skills and their capabilities to teach this subject. “Senior teachers and co-ordinators are also extending support to the teachers,” Mr Al Shurooqi explained in the statement. 

“The administrations of the schools are also tasked to provide the necessary backing to the teachers and follow them in the classrooms, while there are many training and development programmes that the teachers undergo to improve their skills,” he added.  

The official further pointed out that assigning teachers to cover different subjects doesn’t mean that it’s a permanent measure.