KUWAIT CITY, June 28: Assistant Undersecretary for Administrative Affairs at the Ministry of Education Raaja Bouarki revealed that coordination with the Ministry of Interior is ongoing to grant two-year residency to expatriate teachers instead of one year, reports Al-Rai daily. He said, “The Ministry of Interior expressed its willingness to agree, but requested coordination with the Ministry of Health regarding health insurance for teachers. If all gets approved, this will be done by the next school year, lest interrupting teachers’ summer vacations”.

Bouarki announced “the abolition of centralization of the residency renewal process by granting educational zones the power to renew the residency of teachers”. She added, “The administrative sector is satisfied with the renewal of the residencies of employees in the ministry’s headquarters and the Department of Special Education. The Ministry of Interior agreed to increase the number of permits granted to Ministry of Education’s employees to access the MOI system, and conduct transactions in coordination with the Information Systems Department.

“A teacher can now access the ministry’s website and book the renewal date and enter his data with ease, as the numbers will decrease a lot and so will the dates”. Bouarki also highlighted the number of employees who meet the conditions for selling vacations in the ministry, indicating that it amounts to 2,000 employees only, and the system is open to receive any new applications. Regarding the file of excellent performance, she said, “We have received the lists from all the educational zones. The names of the beneficiaries are being checked and will be transferred to the Finance Sector next week. “A draft decision regarding teachers’ rewards has been prepared. It will be worked on after the decision is approved by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education Dr. Ali Al-Yacoub”.

In a related context, the Undersecretary Dr. Ali Al-Yacoub this week began receiving clients in the ministry, something that was suspended in the last period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He affirmed that he is returning to the field again and receiving clients, parents and all employees of the Ministry of Education using the “open door policy”. In a press statement, Dr. Al-Yacoub said, “It is a day of joy and pleasure to communicate with the public and serve them in order to improve communication across all levels of work, and to help meet the needs and solve problems among all education personnel”