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Manama: The head of higher education on Monday rejected claims that the status of private universities in Bahrain was below international standards, attributing the non-accreditation of some of their degrees in Gulf countries to "commercial competition."
"Bahrain has become the hub of private education in the region and annually receives thousands of Gulf nationals who come to continue their university studies here. Such a status has generated a high level of competition with universities in other countries," Dr Alawi Al Hashemi said.
Private universities mushroomed in Bahrain in the last four years, reaching 16 according to 2007 statistics, amid claims that some of them were "purely commercially motivated and had no respect for international academic standards."
Reputation
Their reputation, compounded by the lack of an effective supervisory body, had led Kuwait's authorities not to recognise their degrees, a move that frustrated hundreds of Kuwaiti students.
However, the crisis ended in January when Kuwait, drawing on a field study, said that it accepted the degrees awarded by private universities in Bahrain.
"We do recognise that some universities were not compliant with national regulations, which prompted the education ministry last October to set strict criteria and conditions. We gave them until the end of this academic year to abide by the new standards if they wanted to continue," Al Hashemi said in his statement to the Bahrain News Agency.
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