Over 4.6 Million People Live In Kuwait; Paci And Csb Statistics Limit Policymaking

Public institutions under the government include the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) and the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI). These two institutions are primarily responsible for providing accurate statistical data, the most basic of which is the population census, for the purpose of drafting public policies. It is indisputable that the data of both institutions must be the same.

They must coordinate to unify their data in case of discrepancies before disclosing the information or explaining why there is a discrepancy, Al-Rai daily reported. According to the CSB, its population statistics were released in August 2022, as of the end of December 2021. Kuwait's population reached 4,216,900 in 2020, a decline of 119,112 from 4,336,012. A decrease in expatriate population of about 148,000 is attributed to this, while Kuwaiti population has increased by about 29,000.

In the meantime, PACI has not yet released its demographic statistics for the end of 2021. Kuwait has a population of 4,627,674 according to its statistics by the end of June 2021, a significant difference of 411,000 from the CSB statistics at the end of 2021. In terms of age groups, CSB estimates 361,493 adults aged 60 and older, while PACI estimates 122,004 as of June 2021. CSB estimates 206,048 for the 25-29 age group, while PACI estimates 512,087 - a 306,000 difference. The population statistics of both institutions make one feel that they are statistics from two different countries. A policy with such significant differences is difficult to formulate.

It is possible that the more complex statistics based on these primary statistics, such as economic growth, inflation, employment, and unemployment, will also be incorrect if the primary statistics are incorrect. The accuracy of figures must be ensured in order to avoid discrepancies. The two institutions should meet to discuss the discrepancies and their justifications before the statistics are released, or this task should be assigned to one institution only. In this case, all studies and policies adopted by the State will be inaccurate. In order for development to take place, accurate and up-to-date statistics are essential.

People are hoping that Kuwait will start a new era in improving the quality of public education and restore its pioneering role. This role is impossible without the commitment to determine priorities, combat corruption and ensure fair parliamentary elections. One of the priorities should be reforming the oil sector, considering most of its highly qualified administrators have been replaced with the unqualified or those with poor qualifications.

Consequently, positions have been distributed among corrupt influential people whose loyalty has been bought and whose numbers have multiplied since this disaster. Another priority is the development of the educational sector. The level of public education declined by about 4.6 years, according to the World Bank and the latest programs of the previous governments. This means that the educational level of a high school graduate here is below that of an eighth grade completer elsewhere.

Kuwait's government schools - kindergarten to secondary - are estimated to cost KD 3,800 annually per student, according to an official report titled "For Kuwait's Sake Let's Teach Our Children Integrity". According to a survey conducted by Al-Shall, the cost of private school education is more than the average cost in American schools — KD 3,900. The average cost for students in bilingual schools is about KD 2,900; KD 2,600 in British schools, KD 500 in Indian schools and KD 427 in Arabic schools, all of which have better educational outputs than government schools. This means that the problem is not the scarcity of money, but wastage and misappropriation, in addition to numerous shortcomings such as the failure to link the teachers with rare specialization and research, teacher’s promotion in continuing education, cheating and inflation of the administrative system for employment purposes. All of these have disrupted the provision of other educational needs such as laboratories, tools and training courses.

Globally, education is undergoing a curriculum revolution as most traditional jobs are no longer necessary in the future, but the country's public education curriculum has remained the same. Since the outputs of public education are the inputs of higher education, the lag in its outputs makes raising the level of higher education almost impossible.

Kuwaiti public education curricula were previously taught in neighboring countries, where higher education institutions are classified differently. It is crucial that Kuwait's new administration is aware of the sabotage of public education, and believes that improving the country's level cannot be achieved without improving its human capital, which can only be achieved through a real educational revolution that includes curricula and values. As clear examples abound, no one seeks new inventions; what matters is determination.

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