Education in Kuwait - A Positive Outlook

As an expatriate who recently settled in Kuwait, one of the first thing I noticed during my travels around the country was the ample spread of schools, colleges (technical & non technical) and universities. For a small country like Kuwait, it was marvellous to find so many temples of wisdom with the student crowd dotted all around its vicinity in their pursuit of knowledge. For an expatriate like me, it was an assurance that Kuwait in the coming years will be safe in the hands of its young and educated populace who will be a positive catalyst for development, peace, and democracy.

At a time when Middle East is portrayed as a volatile and violent region, countries like Kuwait are the beacons of hope for the whole wide Arab world. One of the prime factor, Kuwait has reached such enviable position is the sound educational strategy laid out by its rulers. With a limited population and ambitious plans, the option for Kuwait in the 21st century is to give importance to its human elements by providing proper preparation, orientation and care through continuous education. The two parts of the national educational strategy are: “Education for life” and “Lifelong education”

Arab states has one of the lowest adult literacy rates in the world with only about 60% of the total adult population being able to read and write. Moreover, there are considerable gender disparities in education with 51 literate women for every100 literate men. These statistics are a sharp contrast to figures in Kuwait where four-fifths of the population is literate, and the adult literacy rate reaching 83%. General education which is entirely free for native Kuwaitis is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 14. The government also provides free school meals, books, uniforms, transportation, and medical attention as an added incentive. Not bad for a country which had just 17 schools in the mid forties, this is now close to 500,000 students in various schools across Kuwait constituting approximately 30 percent of the entire population.

The impact that education has on the society is profound and the scope unimaginable. For the twenty first century, education defines what a civilised society is and is the fundamental pillar for developing a knowledge worker. In Kuwait, the present positive scenario in education would not have been possible without a real commitment from various stake holders like the government, the educational institutions and the public. The future of tomorrow’s Kuwait is currently in schools, colleges and universities. Various schools in Kuwait, particularly the private schools have done a remarkable job of providing strong and high-quality education within the reach of every one. Through the remarkable achievements of their students, these schools have proved that education is not a commodity but a holistic process through which an individual progresses and letting them think loud and out of the box. This creative partnership between the schools and the students has tremendous potential benefiting the whole society.
For Kuwait, its choice of schools and the education they offer definitely creates a difference.

Education in the Middle East

There is no denying that lack of quality education is holding back this region. If one looks at some of the prosperous nations today; Switzerland, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan etc; they are characterized by small land mass, no resources but well educated and hardworking people. Having an abundance of oil resource in the Gulf cooperation council countries (GCC), has truly slowed down the region’s development because of the collective thinking that money can save all problems. The decision makers in these countries should realize that people are the only true means to create wealth and education is the key to tap in to that wealth. Human asset is the only asset that appreciates over time

In sectors like oil and gas which GCC countries had a head start, they should have been world leaders by now; both in upstream and down stream technologies. However, due to lack of quality training and development of man power, even now local oil companies need assistance from multinational oil companies to perform basic oil and gas exploration and refining operations.

My work as a business consultant in the Middle East has brought me in to contact with a lot of corporate heads, which are largely locals. To be frank, most of them hold their titles because of their social status and not because of their level of education or technical competence. Some of them might have studied in western universities, but the western education has not developed any of their skills and as one local told me, they do it so their family can claim that their child is western educated. This is why in spite of massive oil wealth in the GCC region, there is hardly any local player with industry revolutionizing idea in global business.

Time is now right for GCC countries to invest in education. With oil prices on a lull, these countries need to look for alternate income. For cash rich, labor short (taking in to consideration of only nationals and no expatriates) countries like GCC, it needs to invest in sectors like IT, bio medical technology, agro technology etc, industries which are quality driven over quantity. Grants should be provided to companies willing to invest in superior education and with women being half the labor population, governments should actively promote education of women. Imagine how the economy in Saudi Arabia will benefit if all the eligible women there could work! The honchos in the Gulf countries should realize that education frees the mind from ignorance & bigotry and unleashes the creative contributions of every citizen, to improve their own lives and the wider community.