State of Kuwait is directing its attention towards Inclusive Education, which provides opportunity to all children, irrespective of their social class, including children with special needs .It is ranked 29th on Human Development Index( HDI) by UNESCO, highest among other Arab countries . Kuwait education system is marked by several achievements in recent years. As of 2005/06 Kuwait allocates 13 percent of all public expenditure to education, which is comparable to the allocation of public funds to education in many OECD countries but lower than other Arab countries. For the same years the public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP was 3.9 percent in 2005/06 which is well below the percentage of GDP spent by OECD countries on education. As of 2005 the literacy rate of Kuwait is 93.3 percent. Kuwait is facing challenges in improving the quality of education at all levels and to build capacities of students’ from a young age. The Ministry of Education is also making efforts to incorporate women into the educated workforce through various programs, for instance the 1989 initiative to establish daytime literacy clinics for women . The Kuwaiti government also offers scholarships to students accepted in universities in United States, United Kingdom and other foreign institutes.
History of Education
Kuwait is a small country that is situated in the Persian Gulf. It is one of the high income countries with a GDP per capita of above $24,000. Oil exports account for nearly half of Kuwait’s national income and about 80% of government revenues.In Kuwait, between 1975 and 1985, the public sector increased its absorption of nationals from 76 percent to 92 percent of all employees .The government of Kuwait is now looking for alternative sources for generating income. Therefore, the government is trying to diversify and improve skills of the labor force; hence education reforms at all levels has now been given high priority.
At the beginning of the 20th century there was no formal educational system in place in Kuwait. There were few Quranic schools known as Al-Katatib, funded by the wealthy private citizens of Kuwait that taught reading, writing and some basic mathematics. In 1912, the Al Mubarakiyya School was established as one of Kuwait’s modern educational institutions. It was founded by the merchants to train their clerks in commerce, mathematics and letter writing skills. In 1921, Al-Ahmedia school was established that offered English courses, and soon thereafter an all girls school was founded that provided education in Arabic, home economics and Islamic Studies. The government got involved in providing formal education in 1936 and by 1945 there were 17 schools. With the increase in oil production and hence state revenues after World War II, the government began investing huge sums of money into social services including education. By 1960, there were 45,000 students enrolled in Kuwait's educational system including 18,000 girls. In the year 1965, following the constitution that made education a fundamental right of a citizen, education was made compulsory for ages 6–14 . Since the early 21st century, the Ministry of Education has sought to prepare a long-term General Education Strategy focusing on educational teaching for the years 2005-2025. This effort aims to align teaching methodologies with the current needs of the increasingly globalised world. The World Bank is conducting an analytical study to explore the various policy options to implement this new strategy. A National Conference for the Development of Education was held in Kuwait in February 2008 to further discuss the national strategy. Other multilateral organizations such as the OECD are working towards improving business environment and providing training to women to promote women entrepreneurship within the country.
Demographics
The population of Kuwait has grown rapidly in the past few years; it has more than doubled during the period between 1985 and 2005. The school-aged population of both Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaitis is 24 percent of the total population in 2005. There were 716,000 people of school age (from 4 to 21 years old) of which 426,000 were Kuwaitis(60 percent) and about 290,000, non–Kuwaitis. Also there are more males than females in each age group of school age population. The proportion of non-Kuwaitis is slightly higher among the 18-21 year olds . In 2007, the primary and secondary female enrollment was 97 and 91 percent respectively; as for males, it was 99 and 90 percent . As for the mix with the expatriates, Kuwaitis make up half of the country’s population. At the same time the burgeoning young population is posing a burden on the job market, with rising unemployment numbers. The government is now making efforts in creating more job opportunities in the private sector for the new entrants. About 95 percent of the Kuwaitis who are employed by the state are now moved to private sectors so as to increase job opportunities for the new entrants.
Levels of Education
School Education
The general education system consists of four levels: kindergarten (2 years), primary (5 years), intermediate (4 years) and secondary (3 years). ; primary and intermediate are compulsory. Schooling is made compulsory for all students of ages 6–14. In addition, all stages of state education, including higher education are free. There are two main ministries which are involved in the development of the education sector: the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher of Education.
There are about 1,145 schools (public and private) at all levels from kindergarten to secondary in Kuwait in 2005/06. Out of this total, there are 664 public and 481 private schools. There are 6 districts in Kuwait and the highest number of schools are in the Al-Ahmedi district with 152 schools (23 percent of all public schools) while Al-Jahra has 85 (12 percent of all public schools) which is the lowest number of schools, by district ). In years 2005/06, two-thirds of all students (from kindergarten to secondary) were in public schools and one-third was in private schools. Most Kuwaitis study in public schools, around 88 percent, and about 76 percent study in private schools.(edu indicators,pp18) The private schools are split about equally between Arabic medium schools, which follow Kuwait’s national curriculum, and foreign language schools, which follow other curricula (e.g., American, British, French and Indian).There are currently 591,359 students enrolled in Kuwait schools which makes up approximately 20 percent of the entire population..
Source:Kuwait Education Indicators Report 2007
In years 2003-2006, there has been a substantial increase in the growth of teachers when compared to growth in students especially at the primary level. In the year 2005/06 there has been an increase in primary school teachers by 21 percent, despite the decrease in student enrolments. A large proportion of public school teachers are Kuwaiti females, particularly at the primary level, with only 4 percent being older than 45 years compared to 35 percent of non-Kuwaiti males .
Pre-Primary and Primary Education
In Kuwait schooling usually begins at age six. Pre-school is also available to children to four to six year olds. According to the new system the primary level is for 5 years. There is also the option of attending private schools which have foreign sponsors and mostly offer co-education, whereas the Kuwaiti public schools are segregated by sex from the first grade. Some of the private and prestigious foreign schools in Kuwait are the Bayan Bilingual School, the American School of Kuwait, the American International School, the British School of Kuwait, and the French School. Most of the private schools are subsidized by the state. In 2007, the primary gross enrollment rate was 98.5 percent.. The gender parity index, which is the ratio of female enrollment to male enrollment, for gross enrollment ratio was 0.98. This shows parity in gender for the enrollment at primary level.. Also the percentage of Kuwaitis studying in private schools in kindergarten is 20 percent.
The Kuwaiti government spends about KD 5.6million per annum into private educational facilities in addition to allotting land for school construction and distribution of books. The Kuwait government also ensures that each school is equipped with a library. The government has also focused on expanding the collection of books in the library from 230,000 to 3 million today. Government is also promoting the use of information technology at school level. The launch of “Education Net” project is a manifestation of that as it connects every government school and library in Kuwait to a telecommunications data network.
Intermediate and Secondary Education
Students are required to spend 4 years at the intermediate level up until grade 9 after which they move on to the secondary level. The gross enrollment ratio at intermediate level (lower secondary level) in 2007 was 91.4 percent, with 91 percent male and female gross enrollment ratios at the intermediate level..
Secondary education is for 3 years after which students can adopt the higher education track by entering into universities or admit into vocational colleges to attain technical and vocational training. The secondary education system is now being s
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