Turning challenges into promising opportunities: Bahrain

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain has the ability to turn challenges into promising opportunities to develop and re-structure its educational system, in accordance with the requirements of the coming phase.

This includes showcasing its ability to use all its potentials in applying e-learning easily, and making it an integral part of the educational means that support efforts to consolidate competence and creativity.

Deputy Prime Minister and President of the Supreme Council for the Development of Education and Training, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, made the statements while patronising the opening ceremony of the World Teachers’ Forum, “Ithraa”, held virtually yesterday in cooperation with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), marking the World Teachers’ Day.

The forum aims to encourage teachers and enable them to play their primary role in supporting education development initiatives, by developing their competencies in priority areas to enhance student participation and raise the quality of learning outcomes, in addition to improving the level of effectiveness and self-motivation for teachers.

More than 800 teachers will benefit from the series of workshops to be held for the next four months, as part of the forum.

These workshops will highlight recent trends in teaching and learning by providing a platform that enables teachers to communicate with international experts and discuss the best global practices.

HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak congratulated the teachers on the World Teachers’ Day, hailing the efforts exerted by teachers and schools to ensure the continuity of the educational process during the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

He said that the role and capacity of the Bahrain Teachers’ College will be expanded so as to become the first source for training and preparing teachers in the kingdom, which will entitle it to be a local and regional excellence centre in developing educational performance.

The Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that efforts to develop education and training will continue unabated despite the challenges facing the educational systems in the world, and the advanced and flexible education and training plans and programmes they require to meet the needs of the labour market.

 “We rely, first and foremost, on the competence of our teachers in dealing with educational challenges.

They are partners in achieving the ambitions embodied in the ongoing government educational goals and programmes,” he said.

HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak stressed the need to focus on the 21st-century skills, noting that the pandemic and its effects have played a major role in raising awareness on the importance of such skills for students.

The Deputy Premier stressed that the educational systems, curricula, or supporting teaching aids cannot fully prepare students without the presence of distinguished teachers, who are essential elements in the educational process, and play a pivotal role in developing the skills of learners.