Minister of Education: Kuwait is committed to building a flexible, advanced, and sustainable education system meeting global standards
Education Minister Sayed Jalal Al-Tabatabaee reaffirmed on Friday the State of Kuwait’s commitment to continuing the construction and development of a more flexible, advanced, and sustainable educational system in accordance with international standards.
This statement came during his speech at the “Government Leadership and Youth Innovation” session, held as part of the Transforming Education Summit convened at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris.
Minister Al-Tabatabaee stated that Kuwait’s educational experience in the past academic year was exceptional, demonstrating the system’s capacity to ensure continuity of learning despite the emergency conditions faced by the country and the region.
He noted that the aforementioned year represented an exceptional experience in the journey of education, as regional circumstances necessitated swift decisions to ensure student safety and the continuity of the educational process, transitioning the system to remote learning across all educational stages.
He clarified that during this period, more than half a million students continued their education remotely, with an attendance rate exceeding 85 percent. Mechanisms for teaching, monitoring, and assessment were organized and developed, while the Ministry did not overlook providing textbooks and delivering them to students to ensure their safety, the continuity of the educational process, and equal opportunities.
He pointed out that the Ministry developed more than 27 electronic platforms and services, including the Electronic Transfer Platform, utilized by over 106,000 teachers, and a smart chat service linked to curricula. Additionally, approximately 2,350 teachers and educational leaders were trained, a digital system for professional development was established, and a national project was implemented to qualify around 40,000 teachers in artificial intelligence applications.
He said that Kuwait seeks to translate Sustainable Development Goal 4—which calls for inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all, and equipping individuals with the knowledge and skills needed to improve their lives and contribute to the building of prosperous and sustainable societies—into reality by 2030.
He emphasized the importance of practical initiatives and measures that elevate the quality of education, noting that Kuwait views this summit as a milestone for transitioning from commitments to implementation, reviewing achievements, exchanging experiences, and setting priorities for the coming years up to 2030.
He mentioned that the world is facing rapid transformations and interconnected challenges that necessitate re-evaluating the capacity of educational systems to adapt and endure. He explained that Kuwait has translated its commitment to achieving Goal 4 into executive measures focused on the quality of education, equity in access, and enhancing the resilience and responsiveness of the educational system to changes.
Minister Al-Tabatabaee outlined Kuwait’s national project to harness artificial intelligence in education, implemented in collaboration with Google, to qualify approximately 40,000 teachers over two academic years.
He indicated that the Ministry continues to develop curricula in line with contemporary global standards and skills, and is preparing a unified education regulation while strengthening governance and institutional oversight. This effort involved the participation of more than 193,000 individuals from the educational field and parents in a national survey to develop the curricula.
He stressed that investment in education is an investment in human capital and the future of generations, adding that Kuwait is committed to strengthening its cooperation with UNESCO and international partners to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
During the “Short Presentations” session of the summit, Al-Tabtabaee outlined aspects of Kuwait’s experience in transformation, reform, and educational innovation, as well as efforts aimed at achieving tangible results in developing the education system. He highlighted the key lessons learned from the Kuwaiti experience that could contribute to enriching educational practices and fostering the exchange of expertise among countries.
The summit discussed the major achievements and challenges faced by the education sector since the convening of the “Education Transformation Summit” in 2022, alongside exploring ways to enhance the resilience of education systems, ensure their sustainable financing, support comprehensive digital transformation, and elevate the teaching profession, thereby contributing to accelerating the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
