Bahraini deputy PM chairs education development committee meeting

Deputy Premier Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa chaired at the Gudaibiya Palace today the 56th meeting of the Education and Training Development Committee.
The panel discussed the students' performance in the National Exams, and reviewed the steps taken by the Ministry of Education to upgrade the students' level and improve the educational system through developing curricular and rehabilitating teachers in partnership with international institutions.
The Committee underlined the importance of coordination among the concerned sides, and holding frequent meetings between the Education Ministry and the National Authority of Qualifications and Quality Assurance for Education and Training (QAA), calling upon the latter to submit to it reports on the meetings' results and recommendations on ways to improve the educational output.
The panel stressed the need to raise the awareness of students and parents on the importance of the national exams.
It urged measures to ensure that the students take the national exams more seriously by including a percentage of the examinees' scores in their school grades.
The Deputy Premier affirmed the importance of taking advantage of international expertise in the evaluation process, and called for the need to set up an Advisory Council that would comprise a number of international experts, urging continuous follow-up and coordination among the relevant sides.
In another context, the panel reviewed a report on the work flow in the Bahrain Polytechnic, and its future plans.
The report revealed that 80% of the graduates (283) of the Bahrain Polytechnic joined the labour market inside and outside the kingdom.