Eductation in Manama Bahrain
Bahrain has public and international schools following various national curricula, open to both Bahraini and expatriate children. Severely retarded children study in special institutions. The Ministry of Education in Bahrain offers free education for all students, including Bahraini and non-Bahraini students in public schools. Majority of public schools have separate institutes for boys and girls. However, majority of the private schools follow co-education.
School education in Bahrain is divided into categories such as nursery, kindergarten, primary level, intermediate level and secondary level.
Nursery (from birth to three years of age) and Kindergarten (three to six year olds) precedes the primary level education in Bahrain. Even the Kindergarten, although run by private sector, are supervised by the Ministry of Education in Bahrain, through Directorate of Kindergartens. Nurseries are monitored by Ministry of Social Development.
The Primary level marks the first rungs of formal education, which includes the six to eleven year olds. The Primary level education lasts for six years (Grade 1 to Grade 6). This level is also sub-divided as first cycle, involving first three grades of primary education, and second cycle, which involves the upper three grades.
Intermediate level targets students in the age group twelve to fourteen years, with duration of three years. It is the third cycle of basic education.
The Secondary Education is considered as a continuation of basic education, and helps the student prepare for higher education or labour market. The duration is three years, and is divided into semesters of three levels. A student can gain entry into secondary education only on obtaining the Intermediate School Certificate or its equivalent.
Even the private schools in Bahrain, differ from one another, due to the difference in educational system followed by each school.
There are the National Private Schools, established and run by Bahraini nationals, and follows the national curricula or the curricula approved by the Ministry, under its supervision.
Then, there are the Foreign Private Schools, established, operated and financed by foreigners and follows the foreign curricula and educational supervision, awarding certificates of the country of origin. However, Arabic language is taught in all foreign schools, apart from Islamic education for all Muslim students.
The Foreign Community Schools are established and financed by foreign communities in Bahrain for the purpose of education the children of their community only.
There are also other educational institutes and centres that focus on job-oriented courses, and differ from one another based on the programs they offer. They offer training programs in computers, foreign languages, electronic typing and such other skills in communication, management or commerce.
School hours and holidays
There are different types of schools in Bahrain, following different curricula, educating children from different cultural backgrounds, and therefore, the school hours and holidays vary accordingly. However, a typical school working day would be from 8am to 2.30pm in most schools. Saturday to Wednesday would be the usual week days.