Three nurseries in Bahrain have been closed down for operating without a licence.

Owners of Al Alem Al Sagheer Kindergarten in Manama, Al Seef Kindergarten in Duraz and Al Masahel Kindergarten in Meqsha were yesterday (July 27) referred to the Public Prosecution for legal action, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The violations were uncovered by Education Ministry officials during a routine inspection of institutes located in different governorates.

“The three institutions did not have a permit from the ministry to work,” a ministry spokeswoman told the GDN yesterday.

“The ministry’s inspectors, during their regular field visits, found out that the facilities were functioning without a licence and had also been flouting stipulated laws and regulations for running a nursery.

“The Education Ministry is the authority to issue a licence to run nurseries in the country and by functioning without its approval these institutions have violated the law and thus are illegal entities.

“The schools were closed down immediately and the case has been referred to the Public Prosecution.”  

She said the ministry would present a detailed investigative report to prosecutors.

“The ministry will support the public prosecution officials in investigating the case and based on the report necessary action will be taken,” she added.  

In January, the ministry warned 11 nurseries that licences could be revoked after a string of violations were uncovered.

The GDN reported at the time that the offences included threatening children’s safety in addition to educational and administrative violations.

In April last year, MPs launched an inquiry into allegations of neglect in Bahrain’s nursery system after horrific abuse was exposed at a nursery in Hidd where children were tied to chairs, not allowed to drink water and came home with bruises.

The probe committee recommended immediate action to improve nursery standards and an investigation against former Social Development Minister Dr Fatima Al Balooshi and other senior officials.

They claimed the ministry failed to implement articles of the 2012 Child Protection Law and members of the inquiry panel blamed a lack of supervision by the ministry for violations in some of the country’s 53 nurseries – including physical and psychological abuse and poor hygiene.

They also came up with 10 recommendations including increasing the size of the nursery inspection team, requiring nursery staff to pass specialised courses and installing surveillance cameras at all facilities except toilets. - TradeArabia News Service