Education Ministry restructuring project progressing

TDT | Manama

The institutional restructuring project of the Ministry of Education is progressing well. Deputy Prime Minister and Supreme Council for the Development of Education and Training chairman His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa was briefed on its latest developments as he chaired the council’s online meeting.

The council was informed on the progress towards goals related to the unified framework of priority government programmes related to education, through the ministry’s project. The main institutional structure, the detailed structures, and the amendments that have been introduced to the structure, were also reviewed, following the discussions between the steering committee and the project’s consulting company, and what was referred to the council in this regard.

The council endorsed the approved amendments and directed to refer the organisational structure of the Education Ministry to the Civil Service Council. The council also discussed the output of the working teams concerned with implementing the post-school learning strategy (post-high school) and listened to a briefing from the Youth and Sports Affairs Minister about the most prominent proposals and recommendations that some work teams related to the Higher Education Council, the institutions of applied education, and the standardised examination system, concluded.

The council approved the recommendations and directed to begin the legal and administrative mechanisms necessary to implement them. Virtual classrooms The council praised the experience of the central virtual classrooms implemented by the Education Ministry in public schools, in light of the report of the Education and Training Quality Authority, and recommended studying the recommendations of the commission’s report to generalise the experience at the intermediate level.

The council also praised the virtual classes and distance-learning practices in some private schools, which were included in the evaluation process. It also reviewed the framework for assessing the quality of school practices and education and training practices in exceptional situations for public and private schools.

The council discussed the postponement of the national exams for the sixth and 12th grades for the 2020/2021 academic year. Virus testing Meanwhile, the council was briefed on the measures taken for the re-opening of public and private schools in a presentation by the Ministry of Education ahead of the start of the 2020/2021 academic year, including procedures to receive students and teachers in light of the developments of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

HH Shaikh Mohammed was reassured about the process of testing all educational, administrative, and technical staff in schools, in implementation of the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, following the delay to the start of the public school year for two weeks to complete the tests.

HH Shaikh Mohammed called for the continuation of coordination between the Education Ministry and the National Taskforce for Combating COVID-19 to complete the testing process and implement the necessary plans based on the results.