Bahrain endorses 355 “controversial” private university degrees
Bahrain’s Higher Education Council on Monday accredited 355 “controversial” private university degrees upon a request from the prime minister.
The accreditation puts an end to a long standoff between the universities and the council following claims of irregularities in the attribution of the credits.
The council has accused some of the 17 private universities of granting degrees without students fulfilling all the requirements and following a long probe, it transferred more than 360 diplomas to the public prosecution for further investigation.
However, the prosecutor said that it had doubts about only 33 degrees.
Disgruntled students, mainly from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, said that they wanted to receive their degrees to take up jobs or secure higher positions and that they should not be involved in the bitter standoff between the council and the universities. Some of them formed a Facebook group to press for their rights.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa requested the council to make an exception and hand out the degrees in a gesture that would put an end to the students’ concerns and woes.
The council on Monday said that it would give 355 degrees to the students, but would allow the prosecutor to continue its investigation of the suspicious diplomas.
Private universities that failed to meet higher education standards will face further punitive action, including the suspension of summer and regular courses in the next academic year, the council said at the extraordinary meeting chaired by the education minister.
