Gulf | Bahrain
Bahrain teachers disappointed short holidays did not include Eid
Bahrain's education minister has vetoed all attempts to have the teachers resume their duties after Ramadan, even though it confirmed that the school year will begin after the Eid break.
- By Habib Toumi, Bahrain Bureau Chief
- Published: 20:04 July 1, 2009
Manama: Bahrain's education minister has vetoed all attempts to have the teachers resume their duties after Ramadan, even though it confirmed that the school year will begin after the Eid break.
Several teachers and columnists have put pressure on the education ministry to allow the administrative and teaching staff to stay home until the end of the holy month, arguing that there would be no students and that their presence would not help achieve anything.
However, the ministry said that it needed to make sure that the academic year would start smoothly and that the presence of the administrators and teachers was important for its careful planning,
"All school administrative and faculty staff will have to be in school on September 13, whereas all students will have to start their year right after the Eid holidays," said Shaikh Hisham Bin Abdul Aziz, the ministry undersecretary for resources and services.
"The committee overseeing the start of the school year has reviewed all preparations for the beginning of the school year," he said.
Many of the foreign teachers, mainly from Jordan, Egypt and Tunisia, had hoped for a late start of the year to allow them to spend the last days of the sacred month and the Eid holidays with their families.
"Bringing us about less than ten days before the start of the year o just sit in schools and do really nothing since there are no students or special classes is totally unfair," said Jamal, an Egyptian teacher.
"It would have made much more sense to allow us to come later and then either reduce from the mid-year break or prolong the school year by ten days. Eid festivities are among the most important events in the lives of Muslim families, and we would have been immensely grateful if they had allowed us to share these special moments with our loved ones back home," he said.
Most of the private schools will start the academic year in the last week of August.
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