Yes, we have a problem. Some people resist modernizing our education system, insisting instead on their outdated methods, even though time has shown these to be ineffective and regressive, with poor results that are clear for all to see.
Our education standards have dropped to the lowest levels in the Gulf and regionally, let alone globally.
Over a century ago, Kuwait led the region in formal education. It was the first to teach English and even offered French in commercial schools for three years.
Kuwait also introduced various modern subjects across all schools. However, this progress stalled when religious parties gained influence in government positions, undermining curricula across the board.
The state has been trying to rescue education from decline for the past sixty years. But one major setback came with the founding of the Teachers’ Institute, which aimed to “Kuwaitize” education in an unproductive way, largely directed by a Brotherhood-affiliated administration.
Then, there was an initiative to adopt Singapore’s successful educational model, but after years of planning, a Brotherhood-influenced Minister of Education dismissed the idea.
Further attempts followed, culminating about three years ago in an agreement with the World Bank to revitalize education.
The ministry made substantial progress, reaching promising stages, only for the project to be abruptly halted by a Brotherhood-inclined minister.
The project was terminated within hours, and all recommendations from the global team were discarded, like the many previous studies before it.
It later emerged that much of the resistance to these reforms centered around one issue: the persistent emphasis on religious instruction.
Nearly every study recommended adjusting the heavy focus on religious subjects in the curriculum, emphasizing that the hours allocated to these subjects should be better balanced with vital academic disciplines that students cannot as easily learn outside of school.
Kuwaiti education today resembles a boat adrift in a stormy sea, with no sail, no captain, and its course changing with every wave.
The policies adopted by the Ministry of Education seem unclear, and worse, no one appears interested in addressing the tragic state of the system or its purpose.
Should we remain with outdated, simplistic methods, or should we embrace the world’s educational innovations? It seems no one has an answer.
The education in Kuwait does not appear aimed at producing morally aware, knowledgeable citizens ready to engage with the world, but rather at preparing students solely for religious ideals.
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