Over 30 schools in Kuwait hit by license and lease issues

• Noura Al-Ghanim of the Private Schools Union noted that not renewing licenses has led to issues, particularly with renewing employees’ residency permits, as one-year licenses aren’t enough for the two- or three-year permits needed for foreign teachers.

Despite the start of the new school year in foreign schools, over thirty schools have been impacted by non-renewal of licenses and leases, marking an unprecedented situation in private education history, according to NouraAl-Ghanim, the president of the Private Schools Union, as reported by Al Rai.

The crisis has also hindered private schools’ ability to renew their employees’ residency permits, leading many educational institutions to file complaints with the federation.

Noura Al-Ghanim told Al-Rai newspaper, “More than thirty schools have not renewed their leases, and consequently, their licenses have not been renewed. This has impacted the educational process in these schools, and such a situation has never occurred before.”

She explained that the failure to renew licenses has created several problems, the most critical being the inability to renew employees’ residency permits.

She pointed out that renewing a license for only one year is insufficient to secure two- or three-year residency permits for school staff, especially for foreign schools that typically contract foreign teachers for at least two years. Teachers are reluctant to leave their home countries for just one year or a few months.

She stated that “there is obstruction within the Ministry of Education and inaction from officials in decision-making, which will lead to a loss of skilled professionals, especially pushing new professors to quickly move to neighboring countries that are eager to attract talent, even with just one email.”

She added, “This situation is a result of the previous administration at the Ministry of Education, where the Private Education Department was depleted of its qualified staff and leadership was assigned to individuals who do not understand how private schools operate.”

She emphasized that Dr. Nader Al-Jalal, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Acting Minister of Education, “came to us like a gift from above”to fix the situation and restore order.