Bahrain

Institutions in Bahrain offering special education include the Saudi-Bahraini Institute for the Welfare of the Blind, the Al-Amal Institute, the Social Rehabilitation Center (including a hearing defect unit and a vocational rehabilitation unit). The Ministry of Education's Directorate of Adult Education oversees illiteracy eradication programs and continuing education programs for adults. The continuing education programs offer language courses (English, Arabic, French, German, Japanese) and specialized courses in auto mechanics, electrical appliance maintenance, art, family life, and office/secretarial skills. The Youth and Sports Authority sponsors junior science clubs, science centers, and the Sulman Cultural Center for children. There are also a number of training centers, as part of Bahrain's plan to develop the country's training resources, and to promote Bahrain as the regional center for such programs. The Higher Council for Vocational Training is the main government body tasked with this agenda, and throughout the late 1980s and 1990s the council qualified 10,528 Bahraini workers in its training programs.