COVID-19: Bahraini lawmakers propose distance-learning bill
Authors of draft cite coronavirus to institute mandatory remote education
Cairo: Bahraini lawmakers have tabled a motion, proposing mandatory distance-learning in the new school year due to the novel coronavirus.
The proposal is presented by a number of legislators including Speaker of the Council of Representatives Fawzia Zainal, giving the Cabinet the power to set the duration of the online schooling system.
“Due to the continuation of the coronavirus pandemic, there is a pressing need to regulate remote education in light of measures taken by schools worldwide and in the Kingdom of Bahrain in particular to confront the spread of the virus,” MP Ahmed Al Ansari, one of the authors of the draft bill, said on Friday.
He told Akhbar Al Khaleej newspaper that the bill is aimed at controlling quality of remote education, meeting related administrative, academic and technical requirements as well as guaranteeing students’ rights and providing the necessary infrastructures.
The draft commits the Ministry of Education to set criteria, terms, instruction and testing methods related to remote education and the assessment system. According to the draft, the ministry is given the right to inspect education institutions to monitor their performance in handling remote education.
The draft, moreover, obliges education institutions to provide infrastructure facilities for distance learning as well as the necessary teaching and administrative staff. According to the same proposal, private schools will have to abide by the fees to be set by the Ministry of Education for remote learning.
Bahrain has set September 16 for reopening schools. Private schools will, however, open on different dates, starting from mid-August until the beginning of September.
In March, Bahrain suspended classes at public and private schools as part of a string of health measures due to the spread of COVID-19.