Minister of Education: Committed to building a flexible, advanced, and sustainable educational system meeting global standards
- More than half a million students continued their education remotely, with an attendance rate exceeding 85%.
This was stated in a speech delivered by the minister during his participation in the “Government Leadership and Youth Innovation” session, held as part of the Transforming Education Summit at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris.
Minister Al-Tabtabaei said that Kuwait’s educational experience in the past academic year was exceptional, demonstrating the system’s capacity to sustain education despite the emergency conditions faced by the country and the region.
He noted that the year in question represented an exceptional phase in the history of education, as regional circumstances necessitated swift decisions to ensure student safety, maintain the continuity of the learning process, and transition the entire educational system to remote learning across all grade levels.
He clarified that during this period, more than half a million male and female students continued their studies remotely, with an attendance rate surpassing 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, sustain the educational process, and guarantee 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 the curriculum. 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 stated that Kuwait aims to translate the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4)—which calls for inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all, and to equip individuals with the knowledge and skills needed to improve their lives and contribute to building 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 period leading up to 2030.
He mentioned that the world is facing rapid transformations and interconnected challenges that require reevaluating the capacity of educational systems to adapt and endure. He explained that Kuwait has translated its commitment to achieving SDG 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-Tabtabaei presented Kuwait’s national project to harness artificial intelligence in education, developed in collaboration with Google, which aims 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, prepare a unified education regulation, and strengthen governance and institutional oversight. This effort involved more than 193,000 participants from the educational field and parents in a national survey to develop the curriculum.
He stressed that investing 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-Tabtabaei outlined aspects of Kuwait’s experience in educational transformation, reform, and innovation, as well as efforts aimed at achieving tangible results in developing the educational system. He highlighted the key lessons learned from the Kuwaiti experience that could enrich educational practices and facilitate the exchange of expertise among countries.
It is worth noting that the summit discussed the most significant 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.
