The case of forged certificates in Kuwait triggered the public opinion in Bahrain in August to question the certificates of governmental officials and private sector employees.

Abdul Ghani Al-Shuwaikh, Secretary General of the Higher Education Council, said that there are 6 thousand foreign students studying in Bahraini universities.

Local Akhbar Al-Khaleej newspaper said that the Academic Accreditation Committee affiliated with the Higher Education Council discovered dozens of forged certificates. Among the discovered certificates, there is a holder of a forged certificate who works as an undersecretary in the services ministries.

The Chinese Ambassador to Bahrain Anwar Habibullah said that the embassy addressed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Education to know the reasons behind not ratifying the certificates of Bahraini graduates from Chinese universities, however, he received no response.

The UK's Higher Education Academy is under pressure to cut ties with Bahrain after academics warned that its activities in the country pose a "serious ethical and reputational risk" for the organisation, said Ellie Bothwell in an article published on Times Higher Education.

The Higher Education Council (HEC) has decided not to accredit the business management Master’s degrees issued by the Arab Open University (AOU) – Bahrain Branch. The HEC General-Secretariat said that the academic degrees won’t be accredited until required documents are submitted by the AOU-Bahrain Branch.

The Higher Education council said that its screening group discovered a number of violations committed at the Gulf University, which led to suspending human resources and interior design BA programs. The council also ordered to immediately stop working in the scientific labs for safety and security considerations.

The General Secretariat of the Higher Education Council sent a final warning to “Kingdom University” to provide all requirements of safety, security, and professionalism within 7 days, starting June 28, 2017.

Secretary General of the Higher Education Council Abdulghani Al-Shuwaikh stressed on banning the universities and private colleges under his supervision from dispatching any of their students in scholarships, without the approval of the higher education council, given that the scholarship should be sent from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.