Manama: A university owner or shareholder can no longer be its president under a new rule by Bahrain's education minister
The move to amend the academic bill to accommodate the new rule seeks to guarantee the independence of the university president from the investors, said the Higher Education Council, headed by the education minister.
It also aims to avoid conflicting interests and to ensure the university's academic independence and adherence to high standards.
Bahrain has 17 private colleges and universities after high education institutions mushroomed in the country in the early 2000s, boosted by great interest of Gulf nationals, mainly Saudis, Kuwaitis and Bahrainis, to finish their learning in the region.
Several Gulf families, concerned about the emergence of negative feelings and attitudes towards Arabs and Muslims in the Western world, following the September 11 attacks on New York, ruled out sending their college age sons or daughters to universities abroad. Bahraini academics and investors joined forces to set up private colleges that offered a wide spectrum of courses and degrees.
However, some of the colleges later waded into controversy after they were accused of lowering their standards in a bid to attract students keen on earning degrees quickly. Kuwait's education ministry said that it would reconsider endorsing academic degrees from Bahrain.
The education ministry, upon the recommendation of a fact-finding committee it set up, took several drastic measures to ensure a better monitoring of the colleges and their full compliance with specific standards.
