KUWAIT CITY, Sept 5: MP Ali Al-Qattan submitted a proposal for the Ministry of Education to obligate private schools to continue the 25 percent reduction of fees for academic year 2021/2022. He said the ministry should impose penalties on schools that will violate the directive, indicating his proposal should be applied whether the educational system that will be implemented in the next academic year is online or hybrid. Much progress has been made in many positive initiatives to achieve political breakthroughs in diverse issues, National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al- Ghanim said on Sunday. In a statement, Al-Ghanim said that many initiatives were made by several parties during the parliamentary break, mainly aiming at finding understandings.

These agreements would contribute to achieving political breakthroughs in several controversial issues, he added. “I confirm that every initiative aimed at creating understanding and political stability is welcome, and I am optimistic that there will be breakthroughs soon before the start of the next session as a result of teamwork,” Al-Ghanim said. The parliamentary Education, Culture and Guidance Affairs Committee on Sunday discussed preparations for the next academic year with Minister of Oil and Higher Education Dr Mohammad Al-Fares, as well as the representatives of the academic and administrative staff at Kuwait University. Committee Chairman MP Hamad Al-Matar disclosed they talked about various preparations for the upcoming academic year, particularly the steps for curbing the spread of Covid-19. He highlighted the importance of holding another meeting with the educational and health authorities, in addition to Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Economic and Investment Affairs Khalifa Hamada; by the end of September in order to finalize preparations for the new school year.

The lawmaker said the current plan is to adopt the hybrid educational system, such that classes are divided as follows: 80 percent online and 20 percent traditional; pointing out traditional classes will be held provided social distancing is strictly observed inside the classrooms. He revealed the committee noticed that the recommended distance between students inside the classrooms is one meter, not two meters. He explained the administration of Kuwait University was not aware that the one meter distance is applicable only in an ordinary situation, so the committee drew the attention of the administration to the importance of implementing the policy on maintaining two meters distance between students. He said the committee also asked for the extension of overseas scholarships for Kuwait University and Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) for another year, taking into consideration the effects of Covid related regulations on the condition of students. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff and Agencies