CLAIMS that classrooms in government schools are overcrowded have been denied by a top minister.
Education Minister Dr Majid Al Nuaimi told MPs in writing, ahead of his appearance at Parliament session on Tuesday, that the average number of students in each class was in line with international standards.
The quota also met criteria set by the Education and Training Quality Authority (BQA), he added.
According to 2018-2019 statistics, the average number of students in each classroom in primary schools was 29-30, while it was 27-33 students in intermediate and secondary schools and 17-24 in technical and vocational schools.
“We are committed to following local and international educational standards to ensure an acceptable teacher to student ratio,” said Dr Al Nuaimi.
“There are some schools which have a huge number of students but we have found innovative and smart ways to absorb those numbers.
“We have introduced technological facilities, laboratories and open spaces to shift from the regular classroom concept and present education in an interesting and motivational way.”
Under a fourth review conducted by the BQA, from 2019 to 2022, two batches of schools have been assessed and the third batch will be reviewed in the next two months.
“The number of schools getting an ‘excellent’ rating has tripled from the first to the third revision and in the third revision from 2015 to 2018 – 68 per cent of the schools received excellent, good and satisfactory grades,” said the minister.
“We are seeing a huge progress in the way education is being presented by schools and improvements show strong commitment from administrations there to develop and elevate.”
Measures
In another written response, Dr Al Nuaimi said the number of government school teachers sent on loan to private schools has shrunk drastically due to the needs of the schools run by the ministry.
“There are just 37 teachers on loan to 10 private schools, teaching Arabic, Islamic studies, PE, mathematics, science, commercial studies, nationalism and IT.
“The loan period is also changing and whenever we call our teachers back, we inform the private school so they could take appropriate measures and come up with alternatives.
“We have also had teachers referred to us to present educational courses in Parliament, centres for disabilities and elderly homes on a temporary basis.”
The minister also pointed out that around 38,000 students in private schools and other institutions are benefiting from transportation and books, while around 200,000 books have been distributed among private school students.”
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
&uuid=(email))