At the Core: The Surprising Education Minister

Minister of Education Jalal Al-Tabatabai, during an interview, expressed his surprise at the laxity in employment within the Ministry of Education and schools, and at the accumulation of teachers who are not needed. This situation was not surprising to us citizens, as laxity, absenteeism, and the overstaffing of teachers for easy subjects in Kuwaiti schools have become a destructive phenomenon defended by parents and elected representatives.

However, the real surprise presented by the esteemed Ministry of Education is the millions of dinars spent annually on “excellent work” for approximately 80,000 employees of a ministry whose educational outputs are the worst in the Gulf region by far.

The criticism from the esteemed Ms. Noura Al-Roumi of the Minister of Education’s remarks, given her extensive experience as a professor and doctorate holder in the educational field, should not be dismissed. Her question regarding the legal measures that will be taken against those practicing laxity is well-founded and necessary.

Ms. Noura’s comment reminded me of what I wrote two years ago on the occasion of a sit-in organized by teachers and elected representatives, protesting the imposition of fingerprint attendance verification, which exposed scandals, corruption, and waste of the country’s funds. I deemed it appropriate to reproduce some of what I wrote then:

“Never before in the world have elected representatives and teachers staged a sit-in to defend cheats, forgers, and thieves of public funds. This has happened and will only happen in Kuwait. The support of (female MPs) for those opposing fingerprint verification exposed them, revealing their glaring contradiction between misleading statements and shameful actions. These harmful and destructive sit-ins have exposed them before. Previously, they emerged without shame, devoid of any religious or national conscience, joining protesting parents who were angry about their cheating children being punished. This was a shameful act that has never occurred in any country that respects itself and values education.

Fingerprint attendance verification, in particular, was an example of a heavy-weight scandal involving administrative, financial, and ethical corruption. It revealed the existence of 17 physical education teachers from the same group in a single school! That all of them hold master’s degrees! That each of them attends only one class per week to sign the attendance and departure register for the preceding days, and then remains absent until his turn comes again. As for their department head, he (his excellency) attends only once a month to sign all their registers. This situation and number defy imagination and are incompatible with reason! And this could not happen without the knowledge of the school administration and the educational administration of their district.

This is an educational catastrophe, corruption, and plundering of public funds, forgery of certificates, and excessive appointment of undeserving individuals, along with fictitious employment. Many double-employed teachers crossed borders to join the ranks of the protesters, indicating their absence from their duties. There are also female teachers who were employed while still in their home countries, and what is hidden is even greater. Corruption is rampant in most parts of the state. These are clear thefts of public funds.”