Expansion of University of Bahrain Health College Proposed

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

An expansion of the University of Bahrain’s College of Health and Sport Sciences has been put forward to raise student intake after years of tight capacity.

MP Dr Munir Suroor said the college’s small premises in Salmaniya limit admissions and leave thousands of applicants without a place each year. Some seats are set aside for scholarship students from different bodies, which further narrows entry.

The college offers master’s, bachelor’s and diploma programmes, yet, according to Dr Suroor, it can accept only dozens in each specialism. In one recent year, the minimum average for admission reached 96.5 per cent.

He said demand is shaped by the local and regional labour market, with nursing drawing the heaviest interest. Parents have, in some cases, turned to private universities and paid high fees so their sons and daughters can study healthcare.

‘Every academic year I receive many calls from citizens and parents about their children’s wish to study nursing, pharmacy and radiology,’ he said. ‘Unfortunately, they did not obtain admission because places are limited, demand is very high and competition intense.’ He noted the college is nearing half a century since its founding and remains in two small buildings.

Dr Suroor has submitted a proposal to enlarge the college to meet demand for healthcare staff. He added that the plan is intended to lay the ground for turning the college, in time, into a medical school.