History of the National University of Bahrain

In the Arabian Peninsula, Bahrain has the eldest public education system. It was established in about 1932. At the time, the government of Bahrain assumed the importance of education. The education system of Bahrain has established gradually since then. Now days, the National University of Bahrain is the largest public university in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Now, the university is known as UoB. It is an undergraduate institution. However, in specific occasion, the university offers postgraduate program. Actually, UoB is the only national education institution in the kingdom of Bahrain that offers Bachelor degrees and few postgraduate degrees.

The university was established in 1986. Its origins date back to the end of 1960 when the higher educational institutes for boys and girls was established. At first, it was an institute and later it became the University College. It provided education to the student accordance with Amiri Decree number 11 for 1978. The Gulf College was found in 1968. Later on, by the same decree, number 2 of 1981 named it as The Gulf polytechnic College. These two colleges remain independent. They both offer B.Sc. degrees in various faculties of arts, commerce, science, education and engineering. At 1986, the Amir of Bahrain issued the decree number 12 for 1968 and merged them to establish the National university of Bahrain. Now, the university comprises nine colleges. They are- Arts College, Business Administration College, College of Education, College of Law, College of Information Technology, Science College, Engineering College, College of Applied Studies and the BTC (Bahrain Teachers College).

Fundamental aims of the university are to carrying out actions concerned with higher studies to develop and preserve acquired knowledge. The university fosters talents and provides scholarship for them. Its motto is to provide the country with technocrats and professionals in various fields. The king of Bahrain is the supreme president of the National University of Bahrain. There are four administrative councils of the university. They are- The board of Trustees, College councils, the university council and Departmental council. These councils perform their duties and manage their responsibilities in accordance with the rules, regulations and laws of the university. The academic year is divided in to fall and spring semesters. Each semester has the duration of 16 weeks.  The fall semester starts in the end of September and ends in January first week. Duration of the second semester is February to June of a year. The university also has a summer session that starts at June and lasts for August.