KUWAIT CITY, July 31: Private foreign schools have announced the complete resumption of the regular education system at the beginning of the 2022/2023 academic year, limiting the working hours of their educational bodies, starting from August 21. Their students will start school in batches from Sunday, August 28, then on Tuesday, August 30 and then another batch the following week on September 4, reports Al-Rai daily.

According to educational sources, the tuition fees for the next academic year are fixed and will not be increased despite the wave of high prices of everything after the pandemic.

President of the Private Schools Union Noura Al-Ghanim revealed that the shortage of cadres and manpower in some Arab and foreign schools still exists.

She called on government institutions to take measures to exclude workers of the educational and health sectors so that they can bring in their families, and to facilitate the process of recruiting foreign workers.

Al-Ghanim said, “The cost of labor currently in Kuwait is very high. It is not qualified to work in schools.

Educational institutions are not based on a teacher and director alone, but need other cadres to ensure cleanliness and safety such as security guards, cleaners, bus drivers and maintenance workers.

Many foreign teachers refuse to return to Kuwait without their families. Until this moment, governmental decisions do not allow entry of teachers’ families except under certain exceptions".

Al-Ghanim praised the great response of the Ministry of Interior and the Public Manpower Authority during the COVID-19 crisis.

She said she hopes this flexibility will remain in the recruitment of foreign workers to work in private schools.

Al-Ghanim said, "A foreign teacher and his wife (if they work in Kuwait) should be allowed to bring in their children who are over the age of 14. It is not possible for the teacher and his wife to come to Kuwait and leave their children of ages 15 and 16 behind.

After the pandemic recedes and its repercussions have passed, we must look forward and not look back, in terms of continuing with normal life. The vision must be comprehensive to upgrade the educational system. All the ingredients necessary for its continuity must be provided in the best way”.

She stressed the need for cooperation of the government and private institutions in this aspect.

Meanwhile, regarding the subject of tuition fees, reliable sources stressed the need for foreign schools to abide by ministerial resolution No. 52/2021.

They warned of the application of penalties in case of violation of the decision, highlighting that tuition fees are specified according to the tables attached to the aforementioned decision and approved by the Ministry of Education during the year 2021.

The sources explained that, according to the decision, each student of the school shall have a special account list specifying the tuition fees owed by the guardian, the payment system, their value and due dates, provided that private schools are entitled to registration fees for the 2022/2023 academic year that are deducted from the tuition fees owed by the student for the academic year. This amount is KD 50 per student in Arab schools and foreign schools with the Pakistani, Indian and Filipino curricula, and KD 100 per student in other foreign schools.

Private schools may not modify the due date, the number or value of payments. In the event that a student enrolled in the school transfers to another school during the school year or leaves, the tuition fees for the scheduled payment within the specified dates shall not be borne by the school to which the student is transferred during the year.

The tuition fees are any fees for the period the student has spent at the school from where he is transferring.

The sources said, “Private schools may not collect any fees or other expenses, other than the approved tuition fees, provided they obtain prior approval of the ministry. Students may not also be obligated to purchase textbooks or school uniforms or participate in electronic services or transportation services”.