HEC launches accreditation system for universities

Secretary-General of the Higher Education Council (HEC) Professor Yousef Hamzah has met university presidents to launch the national accreditation system for universities.

The national accreditation framework, which meets international standards, has been designed in consultation with industry leaders who see higher education as the engine for economic growth, in particular the private sector.

The accreditation framework sets minimum standards for universities in order to become accredited and this is in line with other countries in the GCC.  

Currently, the first private university is going through the accreditation process with an inspection team having arrived from the UK to conduct the rigorous inspection.

Prof Hamzah said:  “I am delighted that we have finally launched the accreditation system for Bahrain.  This will give increased confidence to students, parents and employers. Our vision launched in 2014 makes it clear that we want Bahrain to become an educational hub and this is a big step in achieving that.”

He said the system provides focus on the right mix for Bahrain such as teaching, employability skills, student assessment, research, innovation, economic impact and entrepreneurship.

“The role of HEC is to ensure that universities focus on delivering good outcomes for students, the economy and society of Bahrain in order to meet the 2030 vision for Bahrain,” he added.

“Progress over the last few years has resulted in HEC receiving a formal application for the first UK University to establish a campus in Bahrain and it is expected to open in 2017. This is a clear example of confidence and progress made by the HEC at an international level and is another step in offering high quality higher education in Bahrain.” 

“Higher education has made huge advances, in the last 12 months. Our ratings in the 2015 global competitiveness innovation ranking have improved in seven out of eight indicators, significantly with a rise of 31 places in the university and industry collaboration indicator. This is the result of the HEC’s efforts with industry,” Prof Hamzah added. He said accreditation would not only improve the performance as a sector, but would also improve the perception of Bahrain’s higher education sector globally and accelerate the improvement of the higher education sector.