The Higher Education Council (HEC) has convened for its 42nd regular meeting. Chaired by Education Minister Dr. Majid bin Ali Al-Nuaimi, the session was also attended by members Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essamn Abdulla Khalaf, Economic Development Board (EDB) Chief Executive Officer Khalid Al-Rumaihi and Health Ministry Undersecretary Dr. Aisha Bu’unq.

Also present were University of Bahrain (UoB) President Dr. Riyadh Hamza, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Hashemi, Royal University for Women (RUW) President Professor Mazin Jumaah, Premier’s Court director for assessment and analysis Farida Khonji, Sabah Almoayyed, HEC Assistant Secretary-General for Assessment and Accreditation Dr. Mona Al-Balouchi and other officials.

The session was updated on efforts to establish the Hedaya Al-Khalifiya University, in line with the royal directives, which were issued by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa to commemorate the educational milestone, which dates back to 1919.

The panel was informed about the HEC-led efforts to inspect academic institutions and ensure the violations had been addressed in line with directives, vowing zero-tolerance with any irregularities affecting services, security or safety.

Academic institutions were directed to organize admission, based on their capacity, and update the HEC General Secretariat about the number of students. The panel was updated on the 2017 Education and Training Report which was approved during the meeting of the Supreme Council for Educational and Training Development Council, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa.

The session approved a work plan to develop investment in the sector of higher education, on the engineering and academic levels. It approved a project to establish the British-Bahrain University, in cooperation with UK-based University of Salford, Manchester.

The European University was given the green light to start work on its campus, based on the engineering requirements stipulated in the licence. The session was updated about the decision of the Kingdom University to nominate a new president, in replacement of the incumbent one, and address the violations. It approved the renewal of the scientific cooperation agreement, biding the Ahlia University and US Georgetown University to run a master’s degree in engineering management. Other decisions were also taken during the session.

Source: Fana News