Forty government schools in Bahrain have been spruced up at a cost of nearly BD2 million ($5.3 million) in time for the new term. Government school teachers go back on Wednesday, while students return on September 19.

Twenty-five contractors hired by the Works Ministry have completed all the maintenance, repair and servicing work during the summer holiday, at a cost of BD1.8m, for the Education Ministry.

Work involved civil, mechanical and electrical maintenance and servicing to ensure that the schools were ready to accommodate students and teachers, a Works Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

'Civil maintenance and servicing included constructional repairs, indoor and outdoor painting and fixing tiles, and carpentry and plumbing,' said Works Ministry buildings maintenance director Murthada Jahrami.

'Mechanical work involved checking and fixing water networks and extensions, and drainage systems.

'Maintenance was carried out on 140 water heaters and coolers with those needing minor repairs being fixed, while those that we thought were out of service were immediately replaced. Our work also involved replacing all filters.'

'Our electrical work was mainly on electrical connections and striking a balance between electrical loads in the school.'

Jahrami said that the ministry was keen to hand over the schools back to the Education Ministry ahead of schedule.

'We have selected the best contractors and thankfully they were up to the tasks given to them,' he said.

'In the end, we want our children to be able to study in a healthy environment in safe, clean and beautiful buildings and hopefully our work will help give them a push in their achievements,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service