(5)The Right to Education: Articles (13-15)
5.1 The Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain guarantees the right to education in
Article No. (7) of it, as it stipulates that “A. The state sponsors the sciences,
humanities and the arts, and encourages scientific research. The state also
guarantees educational and cultural services to its citizens. Education is
compulsory and free in the early stages as specified and provided by law; B.
The law regulates care for religious and national instruction in the various
stages and forms of education, and at all stages is concerned to develop the
citizen’s personality and his pride in his Arabism; C. Individuals and bodies
may establish private schools and universities under the supervision of the
State and in accordance with the law; D. The State guarantees the inviolability
of the places of learning.”
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5.2 Provisions of Law No. (27) of 2005 on Education, determined that education is
a right guaranteed by the state to citizens, so that basic education (which starts from
the age of obligation and lasts at least nine school years) and secondary education
(which begins after basic education and lasts three years of schooling) are free in
all public schools.
5.3 Emanating from that, government schools in the Kingdom of Bahrain receive
Bahraini students, then students who are children of foreign workers in the
government sector in the beginning, followed by students who are children of foreign
workers in the private sector later, and all of them get the opportunity to education
free of charge without paying any fees, in proportion to the absorptive capacity for
these schools, which is consistent with the principle of progressive realization of the
category of economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to education.
5.4 In contrast, the national law allows the establishment of private schools, which
are schools that operate either as for-profit commercial enterprises, or schools
sponsored by the embassies of their countries, and in the Kingdom of Bahrain there
are a number of such schools which their curricula are in accordance with the
standards of their countries of origin, and they are all regulated by law No. (25) of
1998 regarding private educational and training institutions.
5.5 It should be noted that the first private school in the Kingdom of Bahrain was
established in 1899, and the first public school - regular - was established in 1919,
as the Kingdom celebrated the centenary of education in 2019, which reflects the
importance and depth of its history of education.
5.6 In order to spread the values of tolerance, coexistence, and non-violence to
school students, spread the concept of citizenship, enhance the spirit of national
unity and reject all forms of discrimination, the Ministry of Education developed a
Parallel Report of the National Institution for Human Rights in the Kingdom of Bahrain submitted to the Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)@2021
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