5.6.4 Does your university as a body have accessible childcare facilities for students which allow recent mothers to attend university courses?

Mothers in college often wear many hats: parent, employee, wife, breadwinner, caregiver, daughter, sister, student, and more. Faced with so many competing demands, student mothers can struggle to stay enrolled through graduation. Compared with students without dependent children, student parents are more likely to drop out of school, and they most often cite caregiving responsibilities and limited financial resources as their reasons for leaving.

For this reason, Ahlia University is associated with the Ahlia School, which allows recent mothers to have their children, and in the same way, they can learn and subsequently continue their education [1].

Figure 1. Ahlia School, taken from [1]

In this way, Ahlia School was established in 2010 and is located in Saar, Kingdom of Bahrain. Since the start, Ahlia School has grown to include Pre-school, Elementary, Middle school & High School (Grades 1 to 10). Ahlia School students learn through the following methods:

• Direct interaction and enriching hands-on experience.
• Differentiated instruction that meets learners' needs, interest and abilities.
• Support by a rich, conducive and motivating environment.
• Self-reflecting, risk-taking, inquiring and learning by doing.
• Setting learning tasks that expand students' understanding.
• Acting independently, yet, responsibly.

At Ahlia School we ensure that all children will have an unforgettable experience throughout their time at the school. The school's management and faculty are constantly working hard towards making the school an inspiring place for students to gain exciting experiences that will help them towards achieving great academic and social achievements.

’

Figure 2. Ahlia School, taken from’[1]

Figure 3. Ahlia School, taken from’[1]

The Ahlia University through its inclusion policies generates facilities for student mothers, in this way, Ahlia University is associated with the Ahlia School which allows recent mothers to have their children and in the same way continue their education.

The Ahlia school was established in 2010 and has since grown to include preschool, elementary, middle school and high school. In order with this, the university is committed to reducing student dropouts.

The Ahlia school offers different payment methods to help the parents' convenience.

Figure 4. taken from [2]

Ahlia School accepts students of all nationalities who wish to join our school. Our curriculum is intended for average to above-average students. Students should be at the age group specified in the table below by August 31st to qualify them for the Grade that they are applying for, this is as per the Ministry of Education guidelines’[1].

Figure 5. Ages of Ahlia School, taken from [3]

Feeding Hours’[4]

’         Following childbirth, female employees are entitled to two hours off-duty per day as a feeding period. The feeding hours may be taken in two intervals of an hour each, for a total period of 6 months.

’         Female employees are also entitled to two periods of care per day for 30 minutes each until the child completes one year of age. Female employees have the right to combine these two periods for a total of one hour.

’         The above maternity and feeding hour benefits must be coordinated with the respective Director, College Dean/Chairperson to avoid interruption of normal duties.