MANAMA: Bahraini women have accomplished major strides ever since formal education for girls was launched more than nine decades ago (early 1920s), according to a new report.
Efforts to enhance the rate of females’ schooling have paid off, with girls making up half of high schools’ students in 2020, said the report released yesterday by the Supreme Council for Women.
According to official statistics, girls made up 49 per cent of the overall number of students in the primary and intermediate schools.
Female teachers are overwhelmingly present in the primary education, making up 78pc of the teaching staff in public primary schools in 2020. Overall, females hold 62pc of the total number of teaching jobs in government-run schools, the report said.
Bahrain was the first GCC country to allow formal education for girls, it said.
The decades-long national efforts were acknowledged by the World Bank’s 2020 Human Resources Report, which ranked Bahrain fourth in the world in girls outperforming boys.
Last year, female students made up 62pc of university graduates, up by 5pc during the 2010-2020 decade, while the number of Bahrain university women deans jumped from 7pc in 2016 to 33pc last year.
Until last year, 46pc of the leading positions in higher education sector were held by women, who also represented 55pc of heads of departments at universities, up by 9pc during the same period.
Meanwhile, the number of Bahraini university women teachers increased by 3pc during the period from 2014 until last year, making up 49pc of the overall academic teaching staff.
The report said Bahraini women had been playing a vital role in developing the educational system.
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