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 notifying the violator by registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt. 3.11. The NIHR finds that the provisions of the previously mentioned Article are compatible with international instruments, especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in which the First Paragraph of Article (26) states: “Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages…” Article (28) of the 14 NIHR_Bahrain©CRC_parallel report 2018