KUWAIT CITY, Feb 11: MPs Meteb Al- Raathan and Falah Al-Hajri joined the teachers when they gathered at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education on Sunday – the first day of implementing the decision to apply the fingerprint attendance system on teachers – to voice their views on the decision.

Al-Raathan clarified the teachers are not against the implementation of the fingerprint attendance system in schools, as they are rather demanding for amendment of the organizational structure to lessen their administrative tasks.

He said Minister of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research Adel Al-Adwani provoked the teachers when he declared that teaching is not a difficult job. He pointed out that Al-Adwani should have consulted the professionals and experts before issuing such a statement. He added he will meet Al-Adwani soon to discuss the teachers’ demands. He disclosed that in case the minister does not respond, a grilling motion will be filed. He stated the parliamentary Education, Culture and Guidance Affairs Committee is working on bills aimed at developing education, but more bills are needed to protect the teachers’ rights.

He asserted that except Kuwait, education in all other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has witnessed remarkable development; because their senior officials are keen on developing education, while their counterparts in Kuwait are more concerned about proving the teachers are in schools throughout the working hours.

n addition, Al-Hajri said the decision was not studied well, calling on Al-Adwani to suspend its implementation until the completion of comprehensive studies in this regard. He warned that imposing the fingerprint attendance system on teachers has negative consequences, such as exacerbating the traffic problem. He also pointed out that three former ministers of education did not take such a decision for many reasons like the need for a new organizational structure and to consider the consequences. He made clear that he neither threatened nor blackmailed any minister, but the citizens’ rights are a red line that nobody should cross. He then stressed that parliamentary tools will be used whenever the need arises.

In a related development, Chairman of the Budgets and Final Accounts Committee MP Osama Al-Zaid has denied the alleged intention to divide the people into two parties -- those who support the decision of Al-Adwani in a bid to instill discipline and those against the decision who have been branded as “supporters of carelessness and laziness”. He revealed the committee met on Jan 17, 2024 with representatives of the Ministry of Education including the undersecretary and head of the concerned department, during which the committee asked if the ministry studied the decision and the reply was ‘no’.

He added that in his capacity as chairman of the Budgets and Final Accounts Committee; he sent a letter to the Education, Culture and Guidance Affairs Committee requesting for a study on the decision, specifying the pros and cons. He said Chairman of the Education, Culture and Guidance Affairs Committee MP Hamad Al-Elyan informed him that they will discuss the issue with the representatives of the Ministry of Education on Thursday. He explained that he would not announce his stand on the decision unless it was proven useful or not. He said Al-Adwani did not respect the agreement with the Budgets and Final Accounts Committee as he decided without consulting the concerned institutions or the Kuwait Teachers Society.

He urged HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Dr Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah to announce a clear position on this decision to prevent the issuance of decisions randomly or without conducting studies and consultations. Meanwhile, the Public Facilities Committee on Sunday discussed the bills on using and allocating undeveloped State-owned plots for investment. The representatives of Kuwait Municipality and Ministry of Finance attended the meeting. The Health, Social and Labor Affairs Committee met with representatives of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and several charities to discuss the bills on organizing charitable activities.

Chairman of the Modern and Remote Areas Development Committee MP Abdulhadi Al-Ajmi affirmed that they met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil Emad Al-Atiqi and Minister of Public Works and State Minister for Municipal Affairs Noura Al-Meshaan to deliberate on the establishment of Al-Megwa Road, which will link the southern areas including Sabah Al-Ahmad and Wafra with the central areas through the Seventh Ring Road. He said the committee obtained the initial approval of the two ministers, indicating they reached an agreement to form a joint committee whose members are from the ministries of Oil and Public Works to study the project and submit its report within one month. Rapporteur of the committee MP Majed Al-Mutairi disclosed that the project aims to reduce the distance by almost 45 kilometers and the travel time for residents, especially the students who are enrolled in schools in the central and northern areas. He said he previously submitted a bill on the same project in 2017, but it was not passed because of the objections of the Ministry of Oil; clarifying that this time, the ministry has no initial objection, but it needs to study the project.

On the other hand, MP Muhammad Al-Mahan forwarded the same queries to Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and acting Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahd Yusuf Al-Sabah; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil Emad Al-Atiqi; Minister of Public Works and State Minister for Municipal Affairs Noura Al-Meshaan; Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdullah Al-Jo’an; Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Ali Yahya; State Minister for National Assembly, Youth and Communication Affairs Dawoud Maarefi; Minister of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research Adel Al- Adwani; Minister of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy and State Minister for Housing Affairs Salem Al-Hajraf; Minister of Justice, Endowments and Islamic Affairs Faisal Al-Ghareeb; Minister of Social, Family and Childhood Affairs and acting Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Feras Al-Sabah; Minister of Health Ahmed Al-Awadhi; and Minister of Information and Culture Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi. He wants to know the job titles and specializations needed by every ministry and their subsidiaries including their number, if the ministers have coordinated with the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) about their manpower needs and copies of correspondences in this regard if the answer is ‘yes’, and average rate of nationalized jobs in each ministry and their subsidiaries.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff