The 'Trainee Teacher' Cadre... A National Entitlement
Amid the rapid steps taken by the Ministry of Education to implement its strategic plan for the Kuwaitization of teaching positions—which recently resulted in the termination of services for more than 7,000 expatriate male and female teachers to make way for national talents—the educational field faces a fundamental challenge regarding the mechanism for attracting and supporting young national cadres.
While the Ministry is opening its doors to receive new graduates and train them through the "Trainee Teacher" programs, a legal and financial issue has emerged: this group is deprived of allowances and the financial packages allocated for the teaching profession throughout the training period. This decision requires urgent reconsideration to achieve job equity.
The philosophy of pre-appointment training is not a novelty in the state’s administrative system; rather, it is a cornerstone relied upon by various ministries and vital sectors.
If we make a simple comparison with other specialized professions in the country, we find that trainee doctors (during their internship year), trainee engineers, trainee pilots, and other members of technical and sovereign professions receive their full financial packages and allowances without any deduction throughout their training period.
Administrative history has not recorded that a trainee in these sectors was deprived of their financial allowance on the grounds that they are "under development," because this financial allowance is not merely a bonus, but a tool for attraction and a guarantee of social and psychological stability for the trainee.
From this perspective, depriving the "Trainee Teacher" of their financial package creates a kind of "organizational dissonance" and unjustified discrimination between state sectors, especially since the teaching profession is no less important or arduous than medicine and engineering; indeed, it is the primary factory that supplies these sectors with human resources.
Depriving the new teacher of their financial entitlements at the beginning of their career acts as a deterrent and creates an unappealing environment for Kuwaiti youth at a time when the state is striving to encourage them to join the teaching profession and fill the shortages resulting from the Kuwaitization plan. Furthermore, the public interest dictates that the Trainee Teacher be treated like their counterparts in other ministries, and that investment in the teacher begins from the moment they enter the training gate. Granting them the full, undiminished financial package until their official appointment by the Ministry is a moral and legal entitlement.
Therefore, we look to the Minister of Education, Jalal Al-Tabatabaei, who is renowned for supporting national talents, to view this file with care, recalibrating the compass to ensure the rights of teachers, preserve the attractiveness of the profession, and support the success of the Kuwaitization plan with a comprehensive and stable vision. In the same context, priority in appointment should be given to those within the Ministry of Education who have completed their university studies and wish to change their designation from administrative, supervisory, or other roles to that of a teacher.
A Kuwaiti writer
