Paris : The French radio station, Monte Carlo Doualiya (MCD), held an interview with Education Minister, Dr. Majid bin Ali Al-Nuaimi, on the sidelines of his participation in the 41st session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
The interview, conducted by anchor Gaby Latif, covered a number of topics related to Bahrain’s dealing with the novel Coronavirus pandemic, including the provision of all forms of health care for the citizens and residents free of charge, the adoption of the BD 4.3 billion stimulus package to counter the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to boost the economy and protect employees and aid business, the launch of humanitarian campaigns to support the neediest segments, the development of an economic recovery plan to create promising job opportunities for the citizens and make them the best option at the labour market.
The measures earned the kingdom the praise of the Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, during his visit to Bahrain.
Dr. Al-Nuaimi highlighted the Education Ministry’s success in ensuring the continuity of education during the pandemic, in cooperation with the National Medical Taskforce for Combating Coronavirus, noting that thanks to the King Hamad Schools of the Future Project and the Digital Empowerment Project emanating from it, the Ministry provided the necessary educational e-content through the educational portal (eduNET), whose visits reached 68 million last year, and 17 million so far this academic year, in addition to 14 YouTube channels, and televised lessons, in cooperation with the Information Affairs Ministry.
He also shed light on the precautionary measures in place at schools to protect the health and safety of staff and students from COVID-19, including daily rapid tests.
The Minister also asserted that the necessary educational services have been provided to students with special needs during the spread of the pandemic.
Dr. Al-Nuaimi affirmed that the Education Ministry’s professional development plans and strategies had continued during the pandemic, benefiting a total of 4390 employees.
Regarding higher education, the minister said that the Higher Education Council had taken the necessary measures to ensure the continuity of the educational process while protecting the safety of students, as well as that of the teaching and administrative staff.
Dr. Al-Nuaimi also talked about the restructuring of the Education Ministry, which led to the creation of new directorates, and giving more powers to schools.
Regarding the kingdom’s participation in the 41st session of the General Conference of UNESCO, he said that Bahrain had taken part in the meetings of many committees to take advantage of the member states’ expertise, noting Bahrain’s relations with UNESCO is solid, as reflected in its hosting of three centres that operate in coordination with the Organisation, namely the Regional Centre for Information and Communication Technology (RCICT), the Centre of Excellence for Technical and Vocational Education and the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH).
