The Ministry of Education announced that it would start applying new mechanisms for verifying university degrees and academic qualifications from Bahrain and abroad. The new procedures have already been approved by the Cabinet, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minster.
“The procedures have been streamlined to check degrees without referring them to the National Qualifications Assessment Committee or the Higher Education Council for evaluation”, said Education Minister Dr. Mohammed bin Mubarak Juma’a.
Details of the updated validation procedures of academic qualifications are available on the national portal website, including clarifications about the update process, in addition to contact numbers allocated to respond to questions and inquiries during official working hours.
The National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) and The Council for Regulating the Practice of Engineering Professions (CRPEP) will oversee medical and engineering degrees. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Ministry will scrutinize legal qualifications to license law firms. Holders of other degrees granted by local public and private universities can apply directly for Government jobs through the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) without submitting an attestation or equivalence statement.
The verification process is not mandatory for private-sector employers. However, labour institutions may still verify qualifications with the help of specialized firms accredited by the Ministry of Education, if the qualification is obtained from overseas universities.
The certification can also be obtained directly from the university if the qualification was issued by a local academic establishment.
The Higher Education Council has authorized local universities to certify graduates’ academic degree ratification without the need to refer to the HEC General Secretariat.
As for graduates’ master’s and PhD degrees, employers or private sector enterprises can undertake the verification of certificates through specialized companies recommended by the Ministry of Education if they wish to do so.
As for public sector employees, the Civil Service Bureau will audit qualifications, while granting certificates for depositing scientific theses and dissertations in national public libraries affiliated to the Ministry of Education.
