who were born on 1 September 2011until the end of the same year,
to attend school during this year. This issue was raised following the
decision issued by the Ministry of Education to postpone their
enrollment in school until the next year. The justification of this
decision is that those children have not turned six years of age, as
recorded in the original birth certificates, which is the legal age of
compulsory education stipulated in Article (6) of Education Law No.
(27) of 2005. Article (6) states that basic education is a right to
children who reach the age of six at the commencement of the
academic year, and that the Kingdom should provide it to them.
Parents and guardians should abide by this law for nine academic
years at least. The Minister of Education shall issue the relevant
decisions that organize and ensure that parents and guardians
comply with the law. This decision was met by widespread criticism
by parents.
3.9. Subsequently, the NIHR examined the extent of the compliance of
this decision with the international instruments and obligations of the
Kingdom of Bahrain, where it was found that the measures of the
Ministry of Education are not contrary to any international
instruments and do not constitute discrimination. Even if such a
decision is considered discrimination, it constitutes a positive one
that is in the interest of the right of the child to have access to proper
education in order to provide education to new students in the best
form. The acceptance of all the children born in the above-mentioned
period will overstretch the capacities of the schools and classrooms
of the Ministry of Education and the educational institutions, thus may
affect the rights of the child to proper education.
3.10. The NIHR also followed comments by the Minister of Education on
addressing a notification letter by registered mail with proof of
delivery, to the parent of the student who does not attend school for a
period of 10 consecutive or separate days, to inform the Ministry of
the reasons for such non-attendance. If the Ministry does not accept
the reasons given for such non-attendance, or if the parent fails to
respond to the notification, a report is prepared accompanied by the
necessary documents and is sent to the Minister of Education. The
Minister takes the decision to refer the violation to the public
prosecution to initiate a lawsuit, in implementation of the provisions of
Article (8) of Education Law No. (27) of 2005, which stipulates that
the father of the child, or the guardian, shall be punishable with a fine
not exceeding one hundred dinars, if the child who has reached the
age of compulsory education fails to attend school or does not attend
school for ten consecutive or separate days during the academic
year without an acceptable excuse. In both cases, the criminal case
would be initiated only upon the request of the Ministry and after
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