12 August 2009
While Kuwait's education system was listed in a 2008 report issued by the World Bank as the leading proponent of educational reform in the Arab world (along with Jordan), it still has many challenges to face as it tries to shape the leaders of the future.
Kuwait has a mix of private and public schools and universities, with non-state education at all levels becoming increasingly popular. However, the rapid expansion of the fee-paying segment, as well as the higher demands being placed on the public education network by a growing population, has meant that resources have at times become overstretched and results uneven.
The education system also has its share of critics, with a series of debates being waged ahead of the new school year, set to begin in late August. While recent discussion has focused on issues such as segregation in the classroom and suggested reforms to the Islamic component of the curriculum, there have also been calls to improve the overall standard of education in Kuwait to meet both international standards and the needs of the expanding economy.
Among the proposals have been the establishing of new state universities that would offer a broader range of specialised courses to train Kuwaitis to take over positions in the workplace currently held by expatriates, raising admission standards at Kuwait University and increasing funding for pre-tertiary education so that students can achieve these standards.
Even the World Bank has weighed in on the debate. In its July 18 edition, Al Watan reported that the World Bank had warned Kuwait that unless further reforms were made to its education system, especially increasing the number of teaching days in the academic year, major academic institutions could cease to recognise the country's high school certificates. This would mean that the tertiary education options for young Kuwaitis would be restricted.
Abdullah Al Sharhan, the chairman of the Board of Trustees, who said that the present secondary education system is not equipping all students for the next stage of the learning process, supported this view.
"Many students are ill-prepared to enter directly into tertiary level courses from high school and they must enroll in a foundation year, which is a bridge year between high school and university," he told OBG.
Another difficulty facing universities in Kuwait is finding sufficient teaching staff, particularly for courses such as engineering that are in high demand.
The increasing competition in the Gulf region, along with the political situation in the region and the employment policies of the state of Kuwait, have made it challenging to recruit highly trained and qualified faculty members, Marina Tolmacheva, the president of the American University of Kuwait, said in an interview with OBG.
"The field of engineering is stressed due to the limited supply of faculty," she said. "Therefore, the number of engineering programmes, introduced by private universities, has not reached the levels to which the council for private universities had anticipated."
The need for Kuwait to address these problems is very real, helping to bridge the gap between workplace supply/demand and provide professional-level employment to graduates.
"With over 20,000 contractor jobs available in Kuwait, there is a huge demand for engineers," said Al Sharhan. "Most students graduating in this field will find employment almost immediately out of university."
While coming under criticism from some quarters, the government has been working to expand and improve the country's educational system. At the primary and secondary levels, it announced plans in mid-July to open 16 new schools in the 2009-10 academic year and a further nine in 2011, while later the same month, the minister of education and higher education, Moudhi Al Humoud, said there would be a speeding up of plans to introduce state-of-the-art technological applications in the country's educational process.
As part of the ministry's programme of further modernising the education system, the minister said there would be a greater emphasis on e-learning, through the provision of relevant educational equipment and practical interactive materials, together with an educational portal and wireless networks at schools. This would help create a conscious and self-educated generation capable of keeping abreast of global technological advancements, she said.
Though continuing to invest heavily in education, with the portfolio receiving around 12% of the state budget, Kuwait may not be reaping the full value of these investments. While having high levels of graduates passing out from both its secondary and tertiary institutions, there remains the question of whether the focus has been on quantity or quality.
While Kuwait's education system was listed in a 2008 report issued by the World Bank as the leading proponent of educational reform in the Arab world (along with Jordan), it still has many challenges to face as it tries to shape the leaders of the future.
Kuwait has a mix of private and public schools and universities, with non-state education at all levels becoming increasingly popular. However, the rapid expansion of the fee-paying segment, as well as the higher demands being placed on the public education network by a growing population, has meant that resources have at times become overstretched and results uneven.
The education system also has its share of critics, with a series of debates being waged ahead of the new school year, set to begin in late August. While recent discussion has focused on issues such as segregation in the classroom and suggested reforms to the Islamic component of the curriculum, there have also been calls to improve the overall standard of education in Kuwait to meet both international standards and the needs of the expanding economy.
Among the proposals have been the establishing of new state universities that would offer a broader range of specialised courses to train Kuwaitis to take over positions in the workplace currently held by expatriates, raising admission standards at Kuwait University and increasing funding for pre-tertiary education so that students can achieve these standards.
Even the World Bank has weighed in on the debate. In its July 18 edition, Al Watan reported that the World Bank had warned Kuwait that unless further reforms were made to its education system, especially increasing the number of teaching days in the academic year, major academic institutions could cease to recognise the country's high school certificates. This would mean that the tertiary education options for young Kuwaitis would be restricted.
Abdullah Al Sharhan, the chairman of the Board of Trustees, who said that the present secondary education system is not equipping all students for the next stage of the learning process, supported this view.
"Many students are ill-prepared to enter directly into tertiary level courses from high school and they must enroll in a foundation year, which is a bridge year between high school and university," he told OBG.
Another difficulty facing universities in Kuwait is finding sufficient teaching staff, particularly for courses such as engineering that are in high demand.
The increasing competition in the Gulf region, along with the political situation in the region and the employment policies of the state of Kuwait, have made it challenging to recruit highly trained and qualified faculty members, Marina Tolmacheva, the president of the American University of Kuwait, said in an interview with OBG.
"The field of engineering is stressed due to the limited supply of faculty," she said. "Therefore, the number of engineering programmes, introduced by private universities, has not reached the levels to which the council for private universities had anticipated."
The need for Kuwait to address these problems is very real, helping to bridge the gap between workplace supply/demand and provide professional-level employment to graduates.
"With over 20,000 contractor jobs available in Kuwait, there is a huge demand for engineers," said Al Sharhan. "Most students graduating in this field will find employment almost immediately out of university."
While coming under criticism from some quarters, the government has been working to expand and improve the country's educational system. At the primary and secondary levels, it announced plans in mid-July to open 16 new schools in the 2009-10 academic year and a further nine in 2011, while later the same month, the minister of education and higher education, Moudhi Al Humoud, said there would be a speeding up of plans to introduce state-of-the-art technological applications in the country's educational process.
As part of the ministry's programme of further modernising the education system, the minister said there would be a greater emphasis on e-learning, through the provision of relevant educational equipment and practical interactive materials, together with an educational portal and wireless networks at schools. This would help create a conscious and self-educated generation capable of keeping abreast of global technological advancements, she said.
Though continuing to invest heavily in education, with the portfolio receiving around 12% of the state budget, Kuwait may not be reaping the full value of these investments. While having high levels of graduates passing out from both its secondary and tertiary institutions, there remains the question of whether the focus has been on quantity or quality.
© Oxford Business Group 2009
