KUWAIT CITY, Nov 26: In response to the recent news item published by “Al- Rai” regarding the refusal of the Egyptian Ministry of Education to accept some 4,000 Egyptian students residing in Kuwait from Kuwaiti schools to study the Egyptian curriculum under “Our Children Abroad” education system, the Egyptian Deputy Minister of Education Dr Reda Hegazy has denied there’s obstinacy or refusal by the ministry in accepting the transfer requests for the students in question, reports Al-Rai daily.

In a statement, the minister said the matter is related to the legality of procedures, as a number of parents submitted legal requests, completed papers, and presented certificates from the Kuwaiti schools proving their children had already passed the previous school year, “and we did not reject their requests.” He added “there are legal reasons for rejecting some applications, as they were incomplete”, indicating parents submitted certificates for one semester, which cannot be accepted under any circumstance.

In response to a question regarding the possibility of resolving the demands of those whose requests were rejected, Hegazy said: “When the papers are completed legally, they will be accepted directly, because we have no problem with numbers. Those whose papers have been completed will take the exam according to the Egyptian curriculum”.

He noted the transfer of students cannot be approved under “Our Children Abroad” system unless the schools have given them full approval for that purpose, reiterating the applications will be approved once the required documents are completed. In this context, sources from the Ministry of Education in Egypt disclosed said the number of rejected students has been exaggerated, adding they have no problem accepting students regardless of their number