Optional School Tests Record 94pc Attendance

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Education Minister Mohammed Juma said that attendance in several recent optional school examinations exceeded 94 percent across public and private schools, highlighting strong student discipline.

Speaking in a video message posted on social media on Tuesday, Juma said pupils had turned up in large numbers for assessments conducted by the Ministry of Education and the Education and Training Quality Authority, despite some of the tests not being compulsory.

“I wanted to speak today because I was so pleased by the discipline shown by boys and girls in public and private schools,” he said, rejecting suggestions that students preferred distance learning or were avoiding school responsibilities.

The minister said Grade Four students recorded more than 94 per cent attendance in the PIRLS international reading assessment, which measures literacy levels after the first years of schooling. He added that Bahrain participates in the test to evaluate curricula and teaching methods.

He also reported similarly high participation in TIMSS, the international mathematics and science assessment for Grade Four and Grade Eight students, where attendance exceeded 94 per cent and 95 per cent respectively among registered pupils.

National examinations for Grade Nine and Grade Twelve students recorded attendance rates of between 94 and 96 per cent, he said, describing the figures as evidence of “the highest levels of discipline” among students.

“Some people did not even expect us to reach 50 per cent,” Juma said. “As soon as schools informed students about national exams, they came and sat them.”

He also cited assessment tests for students entering the International Baccalaureate programme next year, noting that more than 3,000 students took part with a 98 per cent attendance rate.