Educational System in Kuwait

The issue of educational reform is the issue of every society and even every country, as all societies seek to develop education in order to prepare a good and balanced human being capable of presenting everything new to his country. Education has become one of the most prominent priorities that all countries are racing to pay attention to, invest in and develop to keep pace with all…  Updates in all fields.  It goes without saying that the most successful countries are those that have directed their investment and efforts towards developing education and their educational system. 

Therefore, we conclude from the above that the relationship between education and development is an interconnected relationship, so all countries seek to develop their education, led by the Kuwaiti government, which always seeks to develop the educational system in Kuwait in order for the country to grow and prosper. We find that some countries were able to achieve prosperity and economic and social growth through…  Through education, as education is the basic foundation upon which the renaissance of any country is based.

Stages of development of the educational system in Kuwait:

Education in the State of Kuwait is one of the most prominent areas of interest to the state, as the percentage of spending on Kuwaiti education represents 6.3% of the state’s gross national product. In addition, Article 40 of the Kuwaiti Constitution stipulates that education is a right for all citizens of the State of Kuwait, as it guarantees  The State of Kuwait provides education to its citizens on a compulsory basis until the completion of the secondary stage, but the stages that follow the secondary stage are non-compulsory stages, by which we mean optional.

 The educational system in Kuwait went through two stages. The first stage represents the period before formal education, where students studied and learned through the kataeb. The second stage represents the regular schools. The first regular school was established in 1911, and this regular school was called the Mubarakiya School.  , which served as the foundation building block on which the educational system in Kuwait was built. After the establishment of the Mubarakiya School, schools continued to be established, and the educational system developed significantly, as schools spread, and this educational development in Kuwait culminated in the establishment of Kuwait University in 1966.

 Kuwait is always keen to invest in its educational system:

The State of Kuwait is considered one of the most prominent Arab countries that have invested generously in education, as its total spending on education at all levels amounted to about $2,600 million according to 2003/2004 figures. This means that 13.7% of the state’s public spending is due to spending on education, that is, up to  6.3% of the country’s gross domestic product. The educational system in Kuwait includes about 1,029 public and private schools providing education to more than 540,000 students of both sexes. The average cost of educating one student in the educational system in Kuwait in the four stages of education is about 4,700 dollars.  Employing more than 30,000 teachers of both sexes, and these teachers are served by more than 18,000 administrative employees.

Therefore, we conclude from the above that the educational system in Kuwait possesses all international standards to provide quality education. However, despite this, the reports of the study of public education indicators revealed the opposite, as these reports indicate the risks facing public education in the State of Kuwait at its various stages, starting from  Kindergarten through secondary school, although these reports did not focus clearly on indicators of academic achievement and their evidence or the methods that should be followed to treat them scientifically.

The educational system in Kuwait and its sad reality:

The challenges of the educational system in Kuwait, which were revealed in the report of the study of general education indicators, do not differ much from the problems of education in most Arab countries, due to the similarity of conditions in most countries. But what are the results and indicators revealed by this report?

 The report pointed out several important matters, including:

  • Despite the large spending and huge investment in the educational system in Kuwait at its various stages, salaries take the largest share of the budget of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Education, and this in turn leads to the fact that only a small portion of the budget is left for other educational needs such as goods, services, and equipment.
  • The low level of academic achievement of male Kuwaiti students compared to female Kuwaiti students at all educational levels and all subjects, as the failure rate of Kuwaiti students in the secondary stage rose to one-fifth, especially among male students, and dropout rates also increased, especially in the secondary stage, as indicated by reports.  The rate of completion of secondary school by Kuwaiti male students is half the rate of female students, and these bad phenomena increase over time.
  • The phenomenon of reducing the number of teaching hours in government schools is widespread compared to the number of official hours scheduled for teaching. It should also be noted that the number of teaching days in Kuwait is one hundred and sixty days, and this is of course much less than the number of teaching days globally, as the global average is two hundred teaching days throughout the year.
  • Despite the huge investment in the educational system in Kuwait and the interest in educational development in Kuwait, and despite the high number of teachers compared to other countries, evidence indicates weak academic achievement. 
  • Increased interest in private education, which led to its growing status, as the number of private schools reached more than a third, and this increase is matched by the demand of Kuwaiti citizens for private education.

Summary of the problems and challenges of the educational system in Kuwait:

The problems of the educational system in Kuwait are summarized in several axes, namely: 

  • Lack of knowledge and experience in addition to low level of skills.
  • High rates of failure and dropout from education.
  • Despite the constant interest in educational development in Kuwait, and the pursuit of advanced educational curricula, there is an imbalance in the educational curricula.
  • Teachers are busy with teaching.
  • Lack of tools for periodic measurement and evaluation of the performance of the educational system in Kuwait.

Stages of deeper development of the educational system in Kuwait:

The educational system in Kuwait went through two stages, the first stage, which is the mosque stage or the Mutawa stage, and then the second stage, which is the formal education stage, which are in detail: 

  •  The first stage: the mosque stage.

 As in all Islamic countries, mosques are considered among the first buildings that exist in any Islamic country. The role of mosques was not limited to leading the prayer only. Rather, it extended to include teaching religion and reading the Qur’an. Therefore, mosques are considered the first stage in the educational system in Kuwait. Education was  At this stage, a full-time teacher carries it out, and this stage was similar to the textbooks found in other countries, but with the development of the lives of Kuwaitis and their interest in trade, integration with other cultures, and travel to distant countries, there became an urgent necessity to develop the educational system, and strive towards advanced educational curricula.

 One of the most important things that the educational system in Kuwait paid attention to during the mosque or Mutawa stage was teaching calligraphy with good and beautiful performance, as the owner of beautiful calligraphy was in great demand to work with merchants, and learning diving accounts and how to divide money between ship owners and sailors was a matter of great importance.  This was accompanied by the necessity of learning the calculations of plaster, which is used to build and paint houses, in addition to learning the calculations of fat, which was a basic commodity in Kuwaiti trade.

  •  The second stage: the formal education stage.

The first regular school in the history of the educational system in Kuwait was established in 1911, and it was called the Mubarakiya School, but why was it called that name? The Mubarakiya School was named that name after Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah – may God have mercy on him – and the first director of the Mubarakiya School was Sheikh  Youssef bin Issa Al-Qenaei. Since its establishment, the school was based on aid and contributions from citizens, which were represented by donations, in addition to student registration fees. The Mubarakiya School remained on this system until the Knowledge Council, which is currently the Ministry of Education, annexed it in 1936 until it became under the management of  Government, then teaching continued at Al-Mubarakiya School until 1985, but after that the school building was used to establish the Central Library  of Kuwait.

 After that, the Al-Ahmadiyya School was established in 1921, which was an extension of the achievements and role of the Mubarakiya School. This school included new students, and its curricula included modern sciences in addition to the English language, which had been rejected in the Mubarakiya School. During this period, many changes occurred in the school.  The educational system in Kuwait, as the American Mission School was opened in 1917, It is the first school to teach the English language in Kuwait, and the first library was established, which is the Ali Al-Amer House.

Educational development in Kuwait:

The development of the educational system and educational system in Kuwait took two directions:

  • The first trend: development in quantity. In this direction, the number of schools and the number of male and female students increased. Student delegations also increased, buildings expanded and school equipment developed. This in turn led to a change in the structures of educational administration to suit the development of the educational system in Kuwait. Departments also appeared  Multiple, which led to the emergence of educational regions in Kuwait, which was considered a shift from centralization to decentralization in educational administration, and then the academic educational ladder in Kuwait was completed with the establishment of Kuwait University.
  • The second trend: development in quality. This trend has appeared prominently in the development of educational goals, whether general or private, in addition to the development of educational planning and the provision of advanced educational curricula, in addition to the development of types of education, the modernization of textbooks, and the expansion of raising the level of teachers and preparing them.  In addition to improving educational and testing services, and developing transportation and library policy.

History of the Educational system in Kuwait:

In order to facilitate the study of the history of the educational system in Kuwait, we can divide it into three stages:

  • The first stage: from independence in 1380 AH 1961 AD until the Curriculum Conference 1392 AH 1972 AD.  During this period, the State of Kuwait completed its educational system and defined many of its educational and pedagogical goals, as Kuwait began to plan in depth for the future of its education, and was also keen to follow up on its services more consciously.
  • The second stage: between the years 1392 – 1410 AH (1972 – 1990 AD). During this period, the educational system in Kuwait set its educational goals, completed the five-year plans in all aspects of education, and set the desired goals for each stage. Education in Kuwait also moved on the path of qualitative development.  With a range of educational experiences, in addition to expanding cultural agreements and cooperation with all state institutions in order to establish an educated society.
  • The third stage: after 1410 AH (1990 AD), during which the results of the Iraqi invasion appear clearly, as the Iraqi invasion led to many negative effects on education in Kuwait, in addition to the efforts that were made after the Iraqi invasion in order to return to the educational system.  In Kuwait, after the social, economic and demographic changes that occurred in the State of Kuwait at that time.

Literacy and adult education in Kuwait: 

In the middle of the twentieth century, initiatives to eradicate illiteracy and adult education in Kuwait were nothing more than personal initiatives and individual desires carried out by some due to their need to learn, but in the year 1369 AH 1950 AD, the first attempts at adult education and literacy appeared, which were represented by an initiative by the Association  Islamic Guidance, which sought to establish a private school to eradicate illiteracy, in which adults aged between twelve and twenty-five years were taught.

This school continued until 1962, and education included learning reading, writing, and arithmetic, in addition to studying the Holy Qur’an. However, upon the establishment of the first independent government in Kuwait, supervision of adult education and literacy programs was transferred to the Ministry of Education in 1961, which completed the mission of eradicating illiteracy.  Alone after that.

Does the educational system in Kuwait allow private lessons?

 Although private tutoring in Kuwait is not criminal, it is highly regulated by the Kuwaiti government through:

  • The educational system in Kuwait does not allow private lessons to be given except by teachers who have been officially accredited by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Education and have licenses to give private lessons.
  • The Kuwaiti government regulates private lesson fees, and these fees must be approved by the Ministry of Education in Kuwait.
  • The educational system in Kuwait does not allow private lessons to be given in homes or other private places. Private lessons must take place in a public place such as schools or educational centers.

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Is the educational system in Kuwait interested in e-learning and distance learning?

Kuwait is considered one of the most prominent countries that have been interested in e-learning, as it has invested significantly in distance learning and e-learning. This in turn has led to an increase in the number of applicants to receive e-learning, as e-learning provides many advantages compared to traditional classroom-based education.

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