Fees increased 40pc!

It is widely understood that the British Council in Bahrain is one of the most prestigious and professional institutions, which provides Bahrainis with quality English language education at reasonable tuition fees.

Having realised the importance of the English language for Bahrainis within the Bahrain market, our highly esteemed institution has been sparing no efforts to increase their fees adding massively to the already financially burdened majority of Bahrainis, the larger proportion of whom receive low salaries and who are eager to teach their children the English language.

In this regard, I would like to invite the attention of the British Council to the following:

Registration and payment took place in June and the course was to start in October. We are wondering where this money received is being invested for this period of three months.

Increasing the fees dramatically by 40 per cent is something that perhaps the local authorities (the Education Ministry) should have a say in and perhaps investigate. Changing teachers with different qualifications frequently is undoubtedly contributing hugely in confusing students. Why is this being done? Is it because in one course there are teachers who may be of high calibre and in the next who knows!

What do you think British Council?

A concerned parent

A BRITISH Council spokesman said: The British Council in Bahrain strives to remain a world class professional education and cultural institution that works to build trust and understanding between different societies and the UK. We thank the reader for his comments about our professionalism and quality.

However, the writer has some concerns that we would like to address and also correct some of his comments, which we regard as inaccurate.

We increased fees over the summer by between approximately 5pc for adult courses and 7pc for our young learner courses - in line with inflation. This relatively modest increase has allowed us to invest still further in the number and quality of our courses and facilities for our customers at our premises at 146 Shaikh Salman Highway, Khamis.

We categorically state that we do not change teachers with different qualifications, frequently or otherwise. We continue to recruit and retain the best ELT teachers from the UK and other English speaking countries who typically spend on average two years with us. Our students continue to return in large numbers - principally due to the high calibre of our teachers, as well as the quality of the curriculum and materials we use.

Teaching English is only one of many activities the British Council is undertaking in Bahrain. We also, for example, work with local Bahraini partners on a wide range of projects. Examples of current activities are:

19 young Bahrainis are currently in the UK town of Brighton as part of a British Council/ Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO)/ General Organisation for Youth and Sport (Goys) Youth Exchange.

From November 14 to 18, UK teachers will meet for the first time Bahraini teachers from their new Connecting Classrooms partner schools

On November 16 and 17, the British Council, Bahrain Training Institute (BTI) and the Labour Ministry are holding a major conference and exhibition for 300 delegates from around the Middle East on vocational educational qualifications

And later this autumn, more Bahraini women will begin to realise their potential through our British Council Springboard Women's self-development programme, in partnership with the Awal Women's Society.

The council has been a leader in English teaching, exams services and international education and cultural relations for 75 years.

We will continue to share the UK's recognised expertise in education and to work with our customers to help them achieve their goals in the future.

Copyright 2009 Gulf Daily News

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