Unemployed Bahraini graduates will not be hired as teachers simply to fulfil Bahrainisation quotas, a top minister said.

Education Minister Dr Majid Al Nuaimi said, during parliament’s weekly session yesterday (June 9) that  Bahrain’s education system was not a “cold store” that accepted under-qualified applicants, reported the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

He was responding to questions by MPs on the reasons behind hiring high numbers of expatriate teachers at government schools while hundreds of trained Bahraini educators were jobless.

“The main source of teachers is the Bahrain Teachers College at Bahrain University, alone with other graduates from the university in specific fields and recruitment from abroad,” he said.

“Students at the college have to teach at schools from the moment they join the course and a regular assessment of their performance determines if they are eligible to continue.

“Those students are being paid monthly allowances and it’s unfair to give them cash while they have no future, just because we selected them in the first place.

“Others who apply through tests for other educational specialisations have to pass tests and even if they all pass, we can only hire three or four every year.”

Dr Al Nuaimi admitted that hiring expatriates cost less than Bahrainis, but said the ministry had every intention to increase Bahrainisation rates in schools.

“A Bahraini teacher when employed gets a starting salary of (around) BD725, while the expat teacher costs BD660 in all expenses including salary,” he explained.

“We want quality teachers, regardless of nationality. Of course if we have Bahrainis who are qualified we will not hesitate to hire them, but we look for a Bahraini who understands exactly what the job requires.

“In girls schools, 90 per cent of teachers are Bahraini.

“It is not a cold-store and if I hire everyone to simply show high Bahrainisation, the next day you will drag me in an emergency session because I would have certainly exceeded the allocated budget and breach my duty as a minister to ensure that schools are not over-staffed.”

Dr Al Nuaimi said contracts of 424 expatriate teachers were terminated at the end of the last academic year when qualified Bahrainis were hired.

“The Bahrain Teachers College has a high number of expatriate teachers, which have reached 59pc because it is in need of high quality lecturers that are capable of building a strong foundation for those that we hire in schools,” he said.

“A total of 450 students have graduated and are working in schools, while 1,021 teachers have been trained in educational leadership and 7,386 teachers on vocational skills.

“The college has helped provide us with teachers in Arabic and Islamic studies, mathematics and science, English and comprehensive primary education.

“Even with the number of graduates, we are unable to fulfil our needs especially with vacancies for male teachers not being filled.”

However, MP Jalal Kadhim heavily criticised the minister for not resolving the unemployment issue, prompting a heated debate between the two.

Kadhim claimed the ministry made hundreds of Bahrainis take tests and informed them, via text message, that 97 per cent failed.

“The minister keeps repeating that Bahrainis aren’t qualified, but they’re graduates of Bahrain University and they had been enrolled through scholarships,” he said.

“The minister was the one responsible during that time, so if they’re not qualified then it’s his responsibility.

“If that’s the case, he should be embarrassed that he hasn’t found a solution to this problem already.

“In one school, Al Hedaya Al Khalifiya Secondary School for Boys, an expatriate (cook) was employed as a math teacher, while a carpenter was employed as an art teacher in another.” - TradeArabia News Service