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EDUCATIONAL
FACILITIES
School attendance in Kuwait is compulsory for all children between the
ages of six and fourteen, but public education is provided free to
Kuwaiti children only.
All Schools, whether public or private, are regulated by the Ministry of
Education (ME). The Kuwaiti educational system, after kindergarten,
consists of elementary, intermediate and secondary levels, each of four
years duration.
Nursery & Kindergarten
The ME provides free kindergartens for Kuwaiti children between the ages
of four and six.
For expatriate children between two and four years there are a large
number of private nursery schools. The better (and more expensive) ones
are registered with the Private Education Department of the ME (see KPG
Business Directory under Playgroups). Fees for those with a good size
and range of facilities are about KD85 a month per child.
Expatriates often organize their own informal playgroups. These are
publicized mainly by word-of-mouth and tend to be transitory. Many
schools for foreign children have kindergartens for children aged four
to six.
Elementary, Intermediate & Secondary
Attendance at state schools is restricted to Kuwaiti children, the
children of teachers working for the ME and the children of expatriates
who obtained residence prior to 1960. All other expatriate children must
be educated privately.
Before the war there were only 15 non-Arabic foreign schools in the
country. Demand for a Western education has increased more than
threefold since liberation.
All foreign schools in Kuwait must be accredited to the Private
Education Department (PED) of the ME. The PED supervises the schools by
overseeing staff qualifications and school facilities, and ensures
compliance by regular inspections. The ME also regulates school fees.
Private schools for non-Arabic children follow their home country
curricula, such as American, British, French, German, Indian, Pakistani,
etc, though all schools are also obliged to incorporate local cultural
and language studies into their curricula. Standards achieved compare
favorably with those in the pupils' home countries.
Costs and the Academic Year
Private Arabic schools receive some government support, such as land to
build schools and free text books but very little assistance is provided
for non-Arabic schools.
Fees for non-Arabic private schools vary widely (see box ). Transport by
bus to and from school is extra. Normally the costs of text books and
writing materials are not included in the fees, and additional fees are
charged for sports and other extracurricular activities.
The academic year runs from late August or early September to mid-June.
Expatriate schools usually have three days off in October, breaks twice
a year of a fortnight each, and official holidays. The school week is
Saturday through Wednesday. The school day usually begins at 7:45am and
finishes at 2pm, though these timings vary a bit between schools.
Higher Education
Education beyond school level is regulated by the Ministry of Higher
Education (MHE). The country has one university and several technical
schools.
As regards degree courses, Kuwait University (KU - tel: 481 1188)
practices a restricted entry policy for expatriates. Twenty places are
reserved for students whose parents teach at KU. A further 50 places are
available to students who obtain scholarships through the MHE. The
government has announced plans to allow the private sector to establish
new universities which would be open to all. By September 2000 the
Ministry has received three applications from investors to establish
private universities in Kuwait. The applications will be reviewed after
completing the charter that would regulate the operations of private
universities.
Adult & Vocational Schooling
KU's Centre for Community Service and Continuing Education (CCSCE)
offers non-degree courses for students over 16 years in various subjects
such as languages (including Arabic as a foreign language), arts,
administration, education, engineering, computers, law, secretarial
studies, etc, which are open to expatriates. These courses are
administered from building 3KH (tel: 483 0804, fax: 483 6323), Khaldiyah
campus. Fees are fairly nominal.
State-funded adult education and vocational training is provided by the
Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET), which is
also the central authority charged with carrying out the government's
vocational education policies. PAAET has several full-time colleges as
well as field and industrial training centers, where students may learn
technical and professional subjects including teaching, commercial
studies, nursing, and mechanical and electrical trades. Some courses are
open to expatriates.
There are several private institutions in the country offering a variety
of full and part-time courses in business studies, secretarial skills,
computing and languages. See KPG Business Directory, under Educational
Services, Schools - Specialist Training, and Training Institutes.
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