Ministry of Education accepts 1,311 appeals regarding teacher redistribution decisions after completing review

Alaa Khalifa

In line with its commitment to enhancing justice and transparency in the implementation of the administrative reform plan, and in accordance with the directives of the Minister of Education, Engineer Sayed Jalal Al-Tabatabai, the Ministry of Education announced the completion of its review of appeal requests submitted by teaching staff members subject to redistribution decisions. This was carried out by a specialized committee tasked with reviewing and classifying the requests based on the nature of the cases and the approved criteria and controls, thereby achieving a balance between the actual needs of schools and the legitimate humanitarian and social circumstances of teachers.

The Ministry clarified that the review of appeals resulted in the acceptance of 1,311 appeals registered in the electronic system, following the verification of requests and supporting documents, and confirming their compliance with the approved conditions and standards. This process ensured justice, objectivity, and uniformity in handling similar cases.

The Ministry explained that the appeal review was based on specific criteria and controls, including a distance of at least 16 kilometers between the residence and the new school, health cases, cases involving care for persons with disabilities and special needs, health-related care, and social and family circumstances requiring consideration, all based on approved official documents and reports.

The Ministry noted that some of these cases involved circumstances not available in the “Teacher Record” system, necessitating verification through official documents and reports attached to the appeal requests to ensure accurate assessment and compliance with the specified standards.

The Ministry emphasized that all appeal requests underwent review and scrutiny in accordance with approved controls, and that requests not accepted were found, after thorough study, to have failed to meet the specified conditions and standards. It stressed that the results of the appeal review were based on uniform standards, ensuring justice and equal opportunity.

The Ministry directed teaching staff members subject to redistribution decisions, including those whose appeals were approved, to monitor decisions issued regarding them via the “My Decisions” service on the Ministry’s website. This is to complete administrative procedures related to releasing their current positions and commencing work at their assigned schools, as per the issued decisions. These procedures are conducted electronically through the “Teacher and Administrative Record” system, where the principal of the previous school approves the release, and the principal of the new school approves the commencement of work. Biometric data is then automatically transferred electronically upon approval of the commencement, eliminating the need to visit administrative authorities, thereby ensuring swift processing and continuity of work in schools.

The Ministry also announced the results of the teaching staff redistribution following the completion of the appeal review. The percentage of teaching loads falling within appropriate limits reached 75% across all educational regions, compared to 34% prior to the plan’s implementation. This reflects the continued positive impact of the redistribution in enhancing justice and balance in teaching loads among schools, and reinforcing the foundations of staff distribution based on actual needs, while completing procedures resulting from the appeal outcomes without undermining the core objectives of the administrative reform plan.

The Ministry clarified that the results of the redistribution showed an increase in the percentage of teachers whose teaching assignments fall within the approved limits across all educational regions. Specifically, the percentage rose in the Capital Educational Region from 36% to 84%, in both the Farwaniya and Mubarak Al-Kabeer Educational Regions from 38% to 82% each, in the Hawalli Educational Region from 32% to 73%, in the Ahmadi Educational Region from 36% to 70%, and in the Jahra Educational Region from 30% to 64%.

The Ministry emphasized that these indicators reflect progress made in addressing disparities in teaching assignments among schools and promoting a fair and balanced distribution of educational workloads, based on the number of classrooms, students, and the actual needs of each school. This contributes to enhancing the efficiency of utilizing available educational staff.

Regarding the continued high teaching assignments in certain subjects, the Ministry explained that this is linked to shortages in specific teaching specializations. It noted that the redistribution has helped alleviate disparities and address part of the existing needs, while efforts continue to resolve the remaining shortages according to the specific requirements of each specialization. This supports the regularity of classes and the stability of the educational process.

The Ministry of Education reaffirmed that the administrative reform plan is part of its efforts to address observations from audit bodies regarding the efficiency of teacher distribution among educational regions and to enhance the optimal use of human resources, in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all. The Ministry has reviewed the current state of human resource distribution, analyzed the actual needs of schools, and taken necessary regulatory measures to address disparities in teaching assignments, thereby promoting equity in staff distribution and improving the efficiency of utilizing human resources and public expenditure.

The Ministry further clarified that indicators in the reports showed a decrease in the national average number of students per teacher from five students in the 2022/2023 academic year to four students in the 2024/2025 academic year. This occurred alongside persistent disparities in the distribution of educational staff among schools and educational regions, underscoring the importance of reorganizing human resources according to actual needs and enhancing the efficiency of utilizing available staff.

The Ministry of Education also pointed out that international indicators published in the OECD’s “Education at a Glance 2024” report show that the average number of students per teacher in OECD countries is approximately 14 in primary education and 13 in middle and secondary education. These indicators serve as benchmarks for international comparisons, taking into account differences in educational systems and calculation methodologies.

The Ministry emphasized that referencing these indicators is part of its efforts to address observations from audit bodies regarding disparities in teacher distribution among schools and educational regions, and to enhance the efficiency of human resource planning based on actual needs. This aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all, through the optimal use of educational staff and the provision of a stable educational environment that supports the quality of learning outcomes.

The Ministry emphasized that the plan for redistributing teaching staff represents a reformative step aimed at achieving equity and balance in teaching assignments, and enhancing the efficiency of utilizing human resources and public expenditure, thereby supporting the State of Kuwait’s efforts to improve education indicators and strengthen its standing in international reports and assessments related to education quality and sustainable development. It further affirmed that the plan’s objectives extend beyond organizing the workload of male and female teachers, to enhancing the stability of the educational process through the allocation of staff according to schools’ needs. This contributes to the regularity of school schedules and coverage of instructional hours, and provides a more stable educational environment that enables teachers to focus on fulfilling their educational and pedagogical missions, while supporting the quality of education provided to learners.

The Ministry of Education concluded by reaffirming its commitment to continuing the implementation of the administrative reform plan according to clear and uniform standards, while persistently monitoring the outcomes of the redistribution and addressing existing needs in schools. This aims to enhance equity in the distribution of human resources, improve the efficiency of the educational process, and achieve school stability and regularity of instructional hours, based on the principle that the best interests of learners and the quality of education constitute the primary objectives of all administrative reform and development measures.