Government schools should be built in every area to ensure students do not spend hours on school buses, demanded Bahraini MPs.

They voted on a proposal to solve the ongoing problem for students being forced to go on 'road trips' from one end of the country to the other, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

MP Jalal Kadhem said students living in villages off the Budaiya Highway were on the streets waiting for school buses from 5.30am to attend classes in Hoora and Gudaibiya.

He said parents opted to send their children to educational facilities in other governorates because schools in their areas could not accept more students as they already have around 40 pupils packed in each class.

“Schools are in appalling conditions and students are forced to receive their education in unhealthy, unpleasant conditions,” said Kadhem, who is among the group spearheading the proposal.

“In addition to that their days are long because of the long trips they have to take from one end to another, which affects concentration and participation.”

The proposal was referred to the Cabinet for review.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Dr Majid Al Nuaimi and Social Development Minister Faeqa Al Saleh attended yesterday's session, but were forced to leave because MPs who summoned them for questioning did not show up.

Finance Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa also had to leave mid-session, before answering MPs questions, because he was urgently called by the Cabinet.

He was summoned to parliament to discuss the closing financial statement of the Future Generations Fund, which sees $1 per exported barrel saved for emergencies. - TradeArabia News Service