25,000 high school students sit for exams in Bahrain

Around 25,000 students are sitting for the end of semester exams in Bahrain's government-run high schools, the education ministry said on Tuesday. The number could have been higher if stringent disciplinary action against students with a record of unexcused absent days, it said. "We have taken action against the students who did not show up for classes and had no excuse," the ministry said. "We simply followed the regulations that make it mandatory for students to attend classes unless they have a medical excuse or an emergency case." High school absenteeism has pushed the ministry to take action to limit the growing phenomenon. Article continues below "We monitored the daily attendance and took the necessary action to ensure students did not skip classes or did not show up at all. We issued them warning letters and informed their parents as per the regulations," the ministry said. The exams are followed by the mid-year holidays. However, private schools had a break in mid-December and have no extra days off in January or February. Parents have often called for unifying the school holidays, but the schools' different systems have hindered drawing a single academic calendar for all students.