Resumption of schools as pandemic nears end in Kuwait is inapplicable

KUWAIT CITY: A number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) called on the Council of Ministers to complete the academic year and create social distancing and online education platforms.

In their statement, the NGOs cited all the factors in the international and domestic scenes — whether the infection rates or statements of officials. They pointed the decision of the Cabinet to open schools in August does not coincide with the end of the epidemic, highlighting the statement of the health minister at the beginning of May that “the crisis is expected to end by the beginning of next year.”

“Therefore, failure to take maximum measures to deal with these facts and coexist with them will necessarily lead to failure of education,” the NGOs warned. The NGOs also pointed out that resumption of schools once the coronavirus epidemic ends has become inapplicable.

This then places full responsibility on the Cabinet to take a decision binding to the Ministry of Education, Kuwait University, and the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) to immediately start the necessary preparations for completion of the current academic year.

These preparations should start with the development of an integrated electronic system for the Ministry of Education, schools and colleges; foremost of which is equipping online education platforms with the highest standards of quality of e-learning approved by the Cabinet and the private schools and universities.

This is in addition to implementing rules on social distancing by rearranging the organizational structure of departments in buildings and classrooms; such that the teachers, professors and students return to an academic environment in accordance with the health standards, the NGOs suggested.