Minister of Education Approves the Comprehensive Regulatory Bylaws for Education at the Ministry
Kuwait, Jan 9 (KUNA) — The Minister of Education, Sayed Jalal Al-Tabtabaei, has approved the comprehensive regulatory bylaws for education in the ministry in their final form, with implementation to begin from the date of the issuance of the ministerial decree. These bylaws serve as the unified regulatory reference for all aspects of the educational process, following the completion of their preparation, review, and consultation with experts and professionals in the educational field.
In a press statement on Tuesday, the Minister of Education stated that the issuance of the bylaws marks a new phase in organizing educational and pedagogical work, reflecting the ministry’s direction toward building a clearer and more stable system based on unified rules. The bylaws precisely define roles, responsibilities, rights, and duties within the school community.
Al-Tabtabaei added that the bylaws are the result of a collective and institutional effort involving work teams, relevant sectors, and field practitioners through continuous technical, legal, and pedagogical reviews, as well as consultative meetings and specialized discussions on the actual reality of schools and the needs of their staff.
He clarified that the ministry sought to transition from a multiplicity of documents, bylaws, and instructions governing the educational process, making the new bylaws the sole reference for educational institutions to organize their operations. This move aims to eliminate the duplication of regulatory references, thereby enhancing the stability and clarity of decisions, by repealing previous documents and bylaws.
He emphasized that the learner is at the core of the bylaws’ preparation, achieved through the development of evaluation and assessment systems, strengthening school discipline, organizing the educational environment, safeguarding rights, defining duties, enhancing school-family partnership, and activating pedagogical, social, and psychological roles within the school community.
He noted that the regulatory framework extends to all members of the school community, defining the rights and duties of students, the role of parents, the responsibilities of teachers, and the authorities and procedures of school administration.
He affirmed that the work on the bylaws reflects the ministry’s commitment to comprehensively developing the regulatory system. The preparation process involved a broad review and update of existing educational systems and bylaws, aiming to build an integrated framework that responds to developments in the educational field. He commended the efforts made by work teams, relevant sectors, and participants from the field.
Regarding the bylaws, the Ministry of Education stated in the bulletin that the process involved a wide review of existing systems, achieving a 100 percent update rate for the kindergarten stage, 87 percent for the general system bylaws, 70 percent for the primary and religious education stages, and 65 percent for both the middle and secondary stages.
The ministry explained that the bylaws consist of 22 chapters covering various components of the educational process, starting from the principles and regulations governing pedagogical work and the kindergarten stage, passing through primary, middle, and secondary stages, and religious education, up to registration, transfer, school discipline, social and psychological services, activities, school media, distance education, the educational environment, examinations, behavior, and professional discipline.
It noted that the bylaws include regulatory provisions for each educational stage, taking into account their specific characteristics and nature. The kindergarten stage covers objectives, developmental characteristics, identity building, admission, and transition to the primary stage, as well as geographical scope, density, inclusion of students with disabilities, teaching staff, schedules, assessment, absenteeism, school discipline, children’s rights, the role of the family, and distance education.
The provisions for primary, middle, and secondary stages include curricula, standards, assessment tools, grade distribution, projects, attendance, absenteeism, and examination violations, alongside general and specific provisions for religious education.
Regarding the secondary stage, the ministry stated that the bylaws include a comprehensive development of the assessment and grading system. A student’s grade in each semester is now distributed between 40 percent for classwork and continuous assessments, and 60 percent for the final semester exam. Classwork is divided into 25 points for student work and 15 points for short tests, while 60 points are allocated for the final exam. The 25 points for student work include 6 points for participation, 6 for assignments, 6 for behavior, and 7 for projects. Regulations for school projects are linked to learning outcomes, self-directed work, creativity, innovation, source documentation, presentation, and discussion.
The ministry also explained that the bylaws adopted a system of digital points and verbal description (GPA), which converts student grades into achievement levels and digital points starting from 4 points for an A+ grade (scores from 97 to 100).
It clarified that the most significant developments approved by the bylaws include the implementation of the cumulative grade point average for the secondary stage. The tenth-grade result accounts for 10 percent, the eleventh grade for 20 percent, and the twelfth grade for 70 percent of the final average.
It added that if a student fails in any grade of the secondary stage but passes in a subsequent year, the cumulative average is calculated based solely on the year of success, with no impact from the previous failure on the cumulative average. (End) M.A.R. / N.W.
