Ministry of Education: Approval of the Dispatch Plan for Scholarships, Leaves, and Grants for the 2026-2027 Academic Year for Ministry Staff

In implementation of the directives issued by Minister of Education Eng. Syed Jalal Al-Tabatabai, aimed at aligning study leave opportunities with the Ministry’s actual needs, linking them to job titles, the academic progression of employees’ qualifications, and priority specializations, thereby ensuring the optimal use of human resources, Deputy Minister Dr. Khalid Al-Rashid has approved the Ministry’s study leave, missions, and scholarships plan for the 2026–2027 academic year. The plan covers five tracks encompassing 28 specializations across various academic levels.

The Ministry of Education stated in a press release that the study leave plans offer employees the opportunity to pursue diplomas, bachelor’s degrees in nursing, master’s degrees, and doctoral degrees, both within and outside Kuwait, in accordance with approved job requirements and the regulations on study leave and scholarships issued by the Civil Service Bureau. The targeted categories include Ministry employees wishing to study at Kuwait University, Gulf University for Science and Technology, or other distinguished universities, under the study leave system within or outside Kuwait, subject to the conditions of the regulations and selection criteria. Additionally, opportunities have been reserved for employees with special needs.

The Ministry emphasized that applications will be submitted exclusively online via the digital platform “Ta” on the Ministry’s website, from Sunday, July 19, to Saturday, August 1. It noted that each track has its own specific conditions and requirements, alongside a set of general conditions governing the leave process. Key general conditions include: the applicant must be a Kuwaiti national; must not exceed 50 years of age for all academic levels; must have continuous service with the Ministry of Education for at least one year; must not have had a previous mission or study leave canceled in the same specialization; and the requested specialization must be related to the applicant’s job nature and listed in the approved leave plan and Ministry’s needs.

Furthermore, applicants must not have active disciplinary penalties against them in the past three years, unless such penalties have been expunged in accordance with Civil Service regulations or annulled by a final court judgment. Applicants are also required to submit a “no criminal record” certificate obtained through the government app “Sahel,” and must have received a performance evaluation within the last two years.

She noted that those wishing to apply for the dispatch plan for missions at the Gulf University College in the Kingdom of Bahrain, or the study leave plan at the College of Graduate Studies at Kuwait University, must register electronically on the websites of the respective universities. She clarified that a request for admission or academic acceptance does not constitute final approval for dispatch until it is endorsed by the Ministry of Education and the Civil Service Bureau. Furthermore, passing a personal interview, meeting admission requirements, and obtaining university acceptance do not guarantee final approval for dispatch, as candidates are selected based on the approved quotas in the dispatch plans from the Civil Service Bureau for the 2026-2027 academic year budget, in alignment with the Ministry’s needs for approved specializations.

She pointed out that a candidate must not interrupt their employment before the Civil Service Bureau issues its final decision approving the study mission. Additionally, an employee cannot be granted a mission or study leave during a secondment period unless the seconded employee is transferred to the Ministry of Education. The dispatched employee has the right to choose the mechanism for receiving their salary throughout the duration of the mission or study leave, either as a basic salary without allowances, or as a full salary with allowances. In all cases, they must comply with the provisions of the Missions and Study Leaves Regulations, and are required to obtain the academic qualification within the specified period; otherwise, the mission or study leave will be cancelled, and financial penalties stipulated in the regulations will be applied. These penalties include recovering 50% of the total amounts disbursed if the basic salary without allowances was chosen, or recovering 100% of the total amounts disbursed if the full salary with allowances was chosen.

Regarding dispatches for studies outside Kuwait, the Ministry emphasized that studies must be conducted at an accredited university or institute, and the specialization must be approved by the Cultural Office, the Ministry of Higher Education, and the National Authority for Academic Accreditation and Quality Assurance. Applicants must verify in advance that the specialization is available at the target universities and meet admission conditions, including holding a recent academic qualification where applicable. For dispatched employees whose study programs require proficiency in English, if such language training is available within Kuwait, they are required to pass the language test required by the universities they are applying to. For foreign languages not available locally, study leave is granted for one year without the possibility of extension, whereas dispatched employees may extend their language study for an additional six months in accordance with the established regulations. It is also permitted to study a free semester outside the original dispatch location after obtaining the necessary official approvals from the Cultural Office and the relevant universities, and notifying the Civil Service Bureau.

The Ministry further affirmed that the place of study cannot be changed except in accordance with the provisions of the regulations governing such changes, and only in cases permitted by those regulations, while adhering to the stipulated financial and administrative controls.

The Ministry of Education called on all applicants to carefully review the conditions and requirements of each plan. It confirmed that all preliminary approvals issued in previous years are considered null and void, and that the responsibility for obtaining academic acceptance lies with the applicant. The Ministry is not committed to providing acceptance or changing specializations after the application is submitted. It stressed that applications that do not contain the required data or documents, do not meet the conditions for the mission or study leave, or are submitted after the registration period has ended, will be rejected. Furthermore, no paper applications will be accepted.

She clarified that each employee is permitted to submit only one dispatch application, and duplicate submissions are not allowed. The dispatch fields are linked to career progression and the Ministry’s actual needs, and she emphasized that the accuracy and currency of the data provided are the sole responsibility of the applicant.