Bahrain's Higher Education Council (HEC) and the British Accreditation Council (BAC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the World Islamic Economic Forum in London.

It was signed in the presence of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, and Senior Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Baroness Warsi, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

Education Minister Dr Majid Al Nuaimi and BAC deputy chairman Dominic Scott signed the deal aimed at developing a mechanism for accreditation of higher education institutions in Bahrain.

Accreditation will allow higher education institutions in Bahrain to gain international recognition, as well as support in the fields of training and transfer of expertise.

In addition to the use of experts involved in the implementation of accreditation standards in universities, the agreement included first and second phases of a project for the development of an academic accreditation framework in the kingdom and explore views of all stakeholders involved in the higher education sector.

On behalf of the HEC, Dr Al Nuaimi signed another deal UK Higher Education Academy chief executive Professor Stephanie Marshall.

This deal aims to develop the teaching standards of faculty members of Bahraini higher education institutions to keep pace with global developments in teaching, technology and learning methodologies.

The agreement includes the implementation of a pilot project, involving approximately 60 staff from higher education institutions in Bahrain.

HEC secretary-general Dr Riyad Y Hamza attended the signing ceremony of the agreements. – TradeArabia News Service