Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
TRIUMPHANT graduate Tamer Essam Mustafa Abdul Razzak has finally received his bachelor's degree certificate following months of wrangling after being caught up in the university entry controversy which left scores of students unable to secure jobs or pursue further studies.
GulfWeekly highlighted the 21-year-old's plight after his offer of a banking position was put on hold because he lacked proof of his educational endeavours.
Tamer is now looking forward to a bright future having finally received his well-earned bachelor's degree certificate, a course that he completed in June 2009.
He said: "I am feeling very relieved. Life is looking up and a big weight has been lifted off my chest. I was constantly worried but now I can concentrate on my work, gain experience and am looking forward to studying further and specialising in Islamic banking."
Tamer completed a three-year Bachelor of Science in Finance and Banking course with a GPA of 3.36 out of 4 from Kingdom University, Zinj, in June last year. He had been accepted on the undergraduate programme after achieving seven O'levels at the Sacred Heart School in Isa Town.
However, the Ministry of Education refused to acknowledge his achievement because it had ruled that students must be educated to at least A'level standard or its equivalent before starting the course.
The controversy was highlighted in GulfWeekly in March and was finally resolved after intervention from His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa. A delighted Tamer, 21, from Budaiya, said his parents were overjoyed and are planning a family celebration.
Officials at the Kingdom University maintained that admitting students after completing their O'levels was a practice followed by many universities in Bahrain in August 2006, the time Tamer was admitted to university.
The problem with Tamer's university degree was finally resolved after HRH the Prime Minister urged the Higher Education Council to speed up the ratification of certificates issued by private universities, provided they met the academic norms and instructed a panel to ensure that students' graduation was not delayed, adding: "Students shall not be held accountable for violations by their private universities."
Tamer is now looking forward to receiving a formal letter of appointment as an operations officer for Ebdaa Bank, a micro-financing operation based in Seef.
Although he was selected for the position a couple of months ago, the bank could not offer him a full-time contract of employment without proof of his qualifications although bosses were so impressed with his attitude and potential they allowed him to gain work experience until the matter was resolved.
