6,174 Dinars... Average Annual Cost per Student in Kuwait

- Average cost per kindergarten student: 7,857 Kuwaiti dinars; 6,340 dinars for primary stage

- Average cost per student in middle school: 5,694 dinars; 5,361 dinars for high school

- Special education records the highest average student cost at 28,098 dinars annually

- Average cost per student in religious education schools: 12,684 dinars

- The Educational Expenditure Book supports curriculum development, school preparation, and improved outcomes

- Student cost statistics provide a key foundation for studying the relationship between expenditure and academic achievement

In its latest statistics on the cost of student education in Kuwait, the book “Educational Expenditure and Student Cost,” prepared by the General Administration of Financial Affairs at the Ministry of Education for the 2024–2025 academic year, revealed that the average annual cost per student, based on total public expenditures for general and special education, reached 6,174 Kuwaiti dinars. This figure includes salaries, bonuses, material supplies, and service costs. The average cost varied across educational stages according to the nature and educational and operational requirements of each stage.

Official statistics in the book showed that the average annual cost per kindergarten student was 7,857 dinars, while the primary stage recorded an average total of 6,340 dinars, compared to 5,694 dinars for middle school and 5,361 dinars for high school. In special education, the average cost per student in special education schools reached 28,098 dinars, while the average cost per student in religious education totaled 12,684 dinars.

These figures reveal disparities in the average cost per student across educational stages. Kindergarten recorded a higher average than primary, middle, and high school stages, while averages rose in special education and religious education compared to general stages, reflecting differences in the nature of services and educational and operational needs associated with each type of education.

At the primary stage level, the average cost per male student was 5,877 dinars, compared to 6,761 dinars for female students, bringing the stage’s overall average to 6,340 dinars. In middle school, the average cost per male student was 5,530 dinars, compared to 5,834 dinars for females, with an overall average of 5,694 dinars.

In high school, the average cost per male student was 4,626 dinars, compared to 6,002 dinars for females, with the stage’s total average cost reaching 5,361 dinars.

Regarding special education, statistics showed that the average cost per male student was 22,601 dinars, compared to 40,368 dinars for females, while the overall average cost per student in the stage reached 28,098 dinars.

In religious education, the average cost per male student was 11,952 dinars, compared to 13,578 dinars for females, while the overall average cost per student in religious education totaled 12,684 dinars.

The book “Educational Expenditure and Student Cost” is published annually by the Ministry of Education to clarify the volume of expenses borne by the state per student, through analyzing and distributing educational process expenditures, including staff wages and various outlays, ultimately calculating the average cost per student across multiple educational stages and types.

The book includes a salary table containing data on the salaries of teaching staff, administrators, and support personnel, which are recorded through the Integrated Civil Service System, along with data on the average cost per student under the salary item, as well as the number of teachers, classrooms, and students, distributed by educational regions, stages, and categories (boys and girls).

It also includes an expenditure table showing the state’s spending on schools according to educational region, stage, and category, covering material supplies such as books, stationery, electricity, and water, as well as service and administrative costs, and expenditures of the Ministry’s General Secretariat and educational regions.

The aim of tracking the cost per student is to provide a database that helps educators, researchers, and those interested in educational affairs study the relationship between spending levels and the development of components within the educational system, particularly students’ academic achievement, thereby supporting necessary studies to evaluate spending efficiency and its correlation with educational outcomes.

• 7,857 Kuwaiti dinars: the average cost per child during the 2024–2025 academic year, the highest among all educational stages.

• 38,091 children: the total number of enrolled students at this stage during the current year.

• The intermediate stage serves as a crucial bridge between primary and secondary education, contributing to the development of students’ abilities and talents and preparing them for the transition from childhood to maturity.

• 420.8 million Kuwaiti dinars: total expenditure on the intermediate stage for girls during the 2024–2025 academic year.

• 299.1 million Kuwaiti dinars: total cost of the secondary stage for girls during the same year.

• In Hawalli, the average cost per male student was 4,695 dinars, compared to 5,272 dinars per female student.

• 28,098 Kuwaiti dinars: the average cost per student in special education schools, which is three times the cost per student in general education, with costs distributed at 22,601 dinars for boys and 40,368 dinars for girls.

• Comprehensive free care includes education, books, school uniforms, breakfast and lunch meals, daily transportation, and medical services according to each student’s condition.

• Free boarding sections for incoming and resident Kuwaiti students living in remote areas where access to institutes is difficult, as well as for students whose social circumstances require it.

• 1947: the year the Religious Institute in Kuwait was established, initially offering three educational stages—primary, intermediate, and secondary—before later limiting studies to the intermediate and secondary stages only.

• Four academic years: the duration of the intermediate stage, with curricula similar to general intermediate education, with expanded focus on Arabic language and Islamic sciences.

• Strengthening the connection to the Quran and Sunnah is among the main objectives of religious education, achieved by deepening understanding of the Holy Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah and reinforcing Islamic values.

• The religious education system includes the Religious Education Administration in Adailiya, and intermediate and secondary institutes for boys and girls in several areas, including Qurtuba and Fahaheel.