Editing Manama (section)

== Education ==
{{Main|Education in Bahrain}}
{{See also|List of schools in Bahrain}}

[[File:Applied Science University, Bahrain.jpeg|thumb|The clock tower of the Applied Science University building]]

Quranic schools were the only source of education in Bahrain prior to the 20th century; such schools were primarily dedicated to the study of the [[Qur'an]].<ref name=MoE>{{cite web|title=History |url=http://www.moe.gov.bh/en/history/Index.aspx |publisher=Ministry of Education – Bahrain |access-date=20 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118203321/http://www.moe.gov.bh/en/history/Index.aspx |archive-date=18 January 2013 }}</ref> The first modern school to open in the country was a [[missionary]] elementary school set up in 1892 (according to one account) in Manama by the [[Reformed Church in America]], with the school's syllabus comprising English, Mathematics and the study of Christianity. Leading merchants in the country sent their children to the school until it was closed down in 1933 due to financial difficulties.{{sfn|Shirawi|1987|p=59}} The school reopened some years later under the name of [[Al Raja School]] where it operates till the present day. In addition to the American Mission School, another foreign private school was opened in 1910; Al-Ittihad school, funded by the [[Persians in Bahrain|Persian community of Bahrain]].{{sfn|Shirawi|1987|p=60}}

Following the end of the [[First World War]], [[Western culture|Western ideas]] became more widespread in the country, culminating in the opening of the first [[state school|public school]] of Bahrain, Al-Hidaya Al-Khalifia Boys school, in the island of [[Muharraq]] in 1919.<ref name=MoE/> The school was founded by prominent citizens of Muharraq and was endorsed by the [[Al Khalifa|Bahraini royal family]]. The country's first Education Committee was established by several leading Bahraini merchants, headed by Shaikh Abdulla bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the son of the then-ruler of Bahrain [[Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa]], who acted as the de facto [[Minister of Education]]. The Education Committee was also responsible for managing the Al-Hidaya Boys school.<ref name=MoE/> The school was, in fact, the brainchild of Shaikh Abdulla, who suggested the idea after returning from post-World War I celebrations in England.{{sfn|Shirawi|1987|p=61}}

In 1926, a second public school for boys opened up in Manama called the Jafaria School. Two years later, in 1928, the first public school for girls was established. Due to financial constraints suffered by the Education Committee, the Bahraini government took control of the schools in 1930.<ref name=MoE/>

Presently, Manama has a wide range of private and public universities and colleges such as [[Ahlia University]], [[Applied Science University (Bahrain)|Applied Science University]], [[Arab Open University]], [[Arabian Gulf University]], [[Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance]], and the [[College of Health and Sport Sciences]]. Other notable primary and secondary schools situated in the city include the [[Bahrain School]], the [[Indian School, Bahrain|Indian School]], [[Al Raja School]] amongst others.