Private schools face fines up to BD100,000 and closure under a draft law giving the Education Ministry direct sanction powers and requiring prior approval for any curriculum change.

The bill has been sent to Parliament and covers all private providers, from nurseries and kindergartens to schools, institutes, learning centres, foreign institutions and community schools.

It is framed as an update to the rules for the sector to raise teaching quality and care.

The ministry would be able to act without going to court, using a stepped approach to penalties and moving at once where a breach may harm children or students. Sanctions range from a written warning and publicising the breach at the institution’s expense to suspending some services without interrupting lessons.

Removal

The ministry could recommend the removal of administrative, technical or teaching staff, levy fines up to BD100,000, place an institution under its management for six months (renewable) with a temporary manager, order a temporary closure of up to ten working days (renewable), or cancel the licence.

If activity is halted or a licence is cancelled, the institution must give parents time to move pupils and pay the transfer costs.

Criminal penalties would apply in the gravest cases: up to one year in prison, a fine between BD1,000 and BD100,000, or both, for obtaining a licence by fraud, providing education without a licence or in breach of licence terms, or giving false or misleading information to the ministry.

Licensing terms for an individual applicant include being at least 21, having full legal capacity and good conduct, and having no conviction for a felony or a misdemeanour involving dishonour, dishonesty or public morals.

Approval

A past cancellation, withdrawal or closure of an applicant’s institution would normally bar approval, though the minister may waive this where judged suitable.

No institution may admit a child or student until all operational, educational, administrative, technical, health and pedagogical requirements, and the occupational safety standards set in the implementing regulations, are met.

A licence may be transferred only with ministry approval. On an owner’s death, the licence may pass to the heirs under set rules, including appointing a qualified agent if needed.

Schools may hire out pitches or host exhibitions and events so long as this does not cut across their educational purpose or students’ interests and the ministry agrees.

Licence

A licensed institution must open within six months of the licence date or lose the licence.

It may not stop activity in whole or in part without approval and must file a request at least one academic year in advance with a plan to protect students and move them to other institutions.

No institution may introduce a curriculum or programme, or amend content, without the ministry’s approval.

Materials must not offend religious or national values, or include content that supports a state hostile to, or at war with, Bahrain.

The ministry may withdraw or amend any curriculum that breaches these rules.

Conditions

The draft allows the use of education platforms and digital tools for lessons under conditions set in the implementing regulations.

Tuition fees must match rates approved by the ministry and may be changed only with prior approval.

The draft sets out how requests are filed and reviewed, requires reasons for any refusal, and gives the aggrieved party thirty days from notification to appeal to the minister.

The draft states its aim is to regulate private education and provide a high-quality system that strengthens pastoral care and gives steady learning outcomes, while improving governance and encouraging investment in the sector in a way that balances public and private interests.