Kuwait to reintroduce secondary school credit system after 20 years
Kuwait’s Ministry of Education plans to reintroduce the secondary school credit (course) system beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year, marking its return after being suspended for two decades. The revamped system will initially be introduced for Grade 10 students before being gradually expanded to all three years of secondary education.
The new model is designed to modernize secondary education, align learning with international standards, and better prepare students for higher education and the labor market. It replaces the traditional rigid curriculum with a flexible credit-hour system based on cumulative GPA, allowing students to choose courses according to their interests, abilities and future career aspirations under the guidance of academic advisors.
The Ministry said the project is intended to diversify educational pathways, strengthen critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, communication, teamwork, digital literacy and other 21st-century skills while reducing academic failure and improving student motivation.
The system will be built around six core pillars: academic flexibility, a credit-hour structure, academic advising, continuous assessment, integrated learning across subjects, and the reinforcement of Kuwaiti national identity and constitutional values throughout the curriculum.
Students will be able to choose between two academic pathways:
- Future Sciences Track, focusing on science, technology, engineering, artificial intelligence and innovation.
- Global Humanities Track, covering humanities, social sciences, law, economics, media and leadership studies.
During the first semester of Grade 10, students will study 11 courses, comprising four common subjects, five specialized subjects and two elective courses.
Assessment will move beyond traditional examinations to include projects, research, presentations, classroom participation, practical applications and performance-based tasks. Students will pass a course by achieving 50 marks or above, and those who fail will only need to repeat the failed course rather than the entire academic year. Grades will contribute to a cumulative GPA.
Students whose cumulative GPA falls below 1.0 will receive academic warnings and additional guidance. Those who accumulate five warnings may be dismissed from school, while students graduating from the system must achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 1.0 to receive a secondary school certificate. Those falling short will be allowed an additional semester to improve their GPA.
The ministry said the new system also places strong emphasis on national identity, Islamic and human values, innovation, entrepreneurship, application-based learning and closer links between education and labor market needs.
Originally introduced in the 1979-1980 academic year, the course system was discontinued in 2005-2006. Its return comes as part of Kuwait’s broader education reform agenda under Kuwait Vision 2035, aimed at improving educational outcomes and developing a skilled national workforce.
