5 days ago
Bahrain Champions E-Learning Model
TDT | Manama
Bahrain's digital education journey was held up as a model for Arab nations during a key meeting of the Arab Parliament's Social, Educational, Cultural, Women and Youth Affairs Committee in Cairo, where Member of Parliament Mamdouh Al Saleh delivered a presentation on the Kingdom's e-learning legacy.
Al Saleh credited the transformation to an integrated national approach rooted in the vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and supported by government planning and widespread community awareness.
He said the Kingdom's strategy represented a forward-thinking framework for sustainable education.
The MP highlighted the 2004 launch of the 'Schools of the Future' initiative by His Majesty as a turning point in modernising Bahrain's education system.
The programme, initially targeting 11 secondary schools, later expanded to cover over 30 percent of intermediate schools by 2016.
This laid the groundwork for Bahrain's digital classroom infrastructure.
Al Saleh noted that His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, played a pivotal role by advancing national digital transformation policies that have strongly impacted the education sector.
National resilience and tools
He also praised the Ministry of Education and H.E. Dr Mohammed bin Mubarak Juma for launching digital platforms such as EduNet and EDUSIS, which enhanced academic coordination among students, parents, and teachers.
These tools, he explained, became vital during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, enabling Bahrain to sustain uninterrupted learning through digital channels.
According to Al Saleh, the pandemic revealed the Kingdom's readiness and the depth of stakeholder engagement across the education community, from teachers to families.
From crisis response to strategy
Al Saleh told Arab lawmakers that Bahrain's e-learning approach was not simply a response to global emergencies but part of a long-term national plan to build a digital, knowledge-based society.
He urged Arab countries to examine Bahrain's model as an example of how state leadership, ministerial implementation, and public engagement can combine to drive sustainable innovation in education.
