Converting Most Of Public School Into Private Schools Will Ease Financial Burden On The State

26 February 2017 Kuwait

This is the second of a three-part series of articles on vision of Kuwait’s future and the stability of its people.             –– Editor

By Saud Al-Arfaj

Japan, for example, for more than 150 years sent delegations to the developed countries to learn from them and bring expertise. The Japanese then modified these expertises that suited the Japanese environment and now Japan has become one of the richest countries and most powerful economically in the world. The United Arab Emirates as well did bring in foreign expertise and experiences and used them to build a state.

This political evolution, so to speak, will be followed and matched by other aspects of social, economic, security, highlighting the role of the private sector in reducing the burden on the government, which will face very difficult conditions in the coming years, if it continues its current trend.What I am asking for Kuwait is not strange. This is what the late Hamad Al-Joua’an, who founded the modern social security systems which he imported from the developed countries and applied it in Kuwait.

Social

The Ministry of Education: I suggest converting most of the public schools into private schools, to ease the financial burden on the state and the state pay education allowance to the families, giving private land to build schools and private universities. The experience has proved that the private education is better than what is taught in government schools and that is one of the reasons why many families opt to send their children to private schools and private universities.

Moreover, the entire educational system should be changed and so the curriculums especially those that have not been changed for a long time. The curriculums must be relevant to the present and not stick to the past. The concepts have changed and values and morals have been spoiled. The thief, the corrupt and the liar are called smart and clever. This reflects to what extent the ignorance reached.

We need to build characters before building edifices. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, ‘I was sent in order to fulfill the good deeds and fine morals.’ The morals have to be taught in specific curriculums because religion is the morals. The core of education is to create a perfect generation based on good morals and fine principles.

A special section should be established in all schools and colleges to raise awareness against drug addiction among school and university students. This information has also to be imparted on parents by the psychologists. Awareness is half the solution, if not complete treatment.

Taking care of the needs of the teachers is one of the most important priorities. The teachers’ privileges, salaries and allowances should be higher than those of doctors and engineers. This will encourage the Kuwaiti youth to join the teaching profession. A teacher must be well qualified and a university graduate. He even must hold degrees in higher education.

It is sad to note that the situation of teachers in Kuwait is miserable. They are at the lowest level and their job is considered the worst and this is a serious error.

Is it reasonable that 85 percent of the teachers in Kuwait are expatriates? Where are the Kuwaiti teachers and where are the privileges offered to encourage them? Why do we not graduate teachers every year in order to reduce the number of expatriate teachers?

Why is the salary of a university professor four times more than that of a teacher, although teaching children is more important and like carving a stone. Who shall encourage patriotism among our generation if the teachers are not citizens? Thus, I call on the Minister of Education to encourage Kuwaitis to take the teaching profession by offering them better pay checks.

I have definite suggestions concerning the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, the Ministry of Awqaf, the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Housing, the General Traffic Department and the Kuwait Airways. However, I shall publish them at a later date.

Economy

In light of the difficult economic conditions the government cannot persist in the management of state affairs and finance various sectors alone, so it requires taking serious steps towards the privatization of most of the ministries.

First — Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Public Authority for Industry:

A strong economy, innovation and development and renaissance arebuilt on security, stability and continuity in the work, where do we stand on this principle?

The Industrial, agricultural and vocational plots are distributed, in most cases, according to favoritism. They are not often distributed among the serious projects owners.

For example, the investor is always under the obsession and fear that the ministry might take away the plot on which he has established his business especially in the industrial area. This feeling cannot bring about the needed stability and development.

The human nature tends towards stability and security in the homeland. Every citizen looks for a better future for his children and grandchildren.

Closely adhering to the homeland and the stability will only be achieved if the government sells agricultural, industrial plots of land to the citizens for building permanent projects and providing opportunities for serious and fruitful projects.

There is no doubt that important projects have been established by the private sector that is considered the engine of the State economy. Those projects include the Sabah Al-Ahmed City at Al-Khairan, the Avenues Project, the Marina Mall, the Souq Sharq and others. We need to thank the private sector for those projects that we feel proud of.

Why do we ignore the fact that 70 percent of industrial plots in Kuwait are sublet to others, because of the dominant investment market in Kuwait?

This is squandering the Sate properties and putting obstacles in the development of the national economy in addition to forcing the foreign investors to stay away.

Such actions have forced many Kuwaiti youth to establish their projects and invest in other Gulf countries. Is it reasonable that a businessman establishes a KD one million project on a land that is not his?

Can any economic development be achieved with the fear of the possibility of the land being taken away any time from the investor? This happened recently when a number of agricultural and industrial plots were ‘snatched’ from the investors.

What we need is the stability and belonging to our land. The State should specify the plots and sell them to the serious investors. This is the manner followed by all countries of the world

 

SOURCE : ARABTIMES

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