Educational and medical facilities in the country could end up being paralysed, unless the executive regulation of Law No.78 of 2019 with regard to the need for attestation and issuance of equivalence certificates of teachers and doctors, is immediately implemented.
The certificates of new teachers, both Kuwaitis and foreigners, who have recently signed contracts locally or overseas with the Ministry of Education are awaiting the issuance of the aforementioned executive regulation.
The Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education Dr. Hamid Al-Azmi reportedly formed a committee to look into this matter in January of this year. Apparently, the committee has been ‘looking into the matter’ for this past nine months, even as certificates and documents of doctors and teachers pile up awaiting evaluation by the Higher Education authorities.
The Ministry of Education has raised this crisis with its undersecretary, Dr. Saud Al-Harbi and requested him to find a solution with the Civil Service Commission (CSC), so that teachers can start work immediately, as was done previously before the new law was evoked.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health revealed that it too is awaiting the issuance of the executive regulation of the new law. The delay by the Ministry of Higher Education in scrutinizing the documents and certificates of doctors sent to them is holding up the hiring of essential doctors in the ministry’s hospitals and clinics. The issuance of the executive regulation of the law may resolve the crisis radically by excluding doctors and medical professionals from attesting their documents before employment. According to experts, Article IV of the law confirms the possibility of exceptions, so as to employ the staff first and have their certificates evaluated and equivalence certificates issued at a later stage, especially since the Ministry has adopted the scheme of International certification of doctors and medical professionals for applicants.
