Editorial: Deserved Reform... Wrong Execution!
When Al-Jarida wrote, about three weeks ago, that “the Ministry of Education’s decision to terminate the services of more than 7,000 teachers is justified, but its timing requires review,” our motive was not to oppose reform or defend a surplus of over 33,000 positions, but rather to consider the human dimension and ensure that reform steps proceed on the right path, with the least possible harm and disruption.
We expected the Ministry of Education to heed this message and postpone implementation until the end of the academic year, thereby giving teachers an opportunity to organize their affairs while simultaneously preserving stability for a new academic year. Instead, it chose to reproduce the problem and expose the educational field to a new wave of instability by issuing 8,703 decisions to redistribute teachers and supervisors among its schools.
Neither those whose services were terminated were treated humanely in terms of timing and grace period, nor were the conditions of those who remained and were transferred free from family and professional dislocation. Neither schools nor students were shielded from the effects of decisions issued at the outset of an academic year that had not yet stabilized. The submission of hundreds of appeals by affected teachers via the “Sahl” platform, along with dozens of them going to the Ministry building to protest, confirm that haste in implementation preceded proper planning and preparation, without anticipating any negative repercussions that might result.
We reiterate that we do not disagree with Minister Sayed Jalal Al-Tabataba on the core idea. The figures announced by the Ministry regarding significant imbalances in the distribution of its staff, and the stark disparities revealed between schools and specializations, confirm that a real imbalance exists that requires review and whose correction has been delayed for years. However, we state clearly and unequivocally that postponing the transfer decisions, which primarily affected Kuwaiti male and female teachers, and terminating the services of some expatriate colleagues until the end of the academic year is not a flaw or a sign of weakness. Reversing a timing proven to be inappropriate is a virtue, not a retreat from reform, which requires good timing, sound management, and careful execution so as not to disrupt teachers, schools, and students alike.
From this perspective, we call on His Highness the Prime Minister to summon the Minister of Education and question him about the mechanism used to make such decisions, the foundations on which they were based, and the extent to which the Ministry was prepared before issuing them without causing disruption to the educational field. We are confident that His Highness will set matters right. Everyone supports addressing the surplus and correcting imbalances, but through better implementation and more wise and humane timing.
