Kuwait City: The Ministry of Education released a report that indicated that 54 per cent of the non-Kuwaiti teachers stuck abroad, whose residency’s have expired, are no longer needed, Al Qabas reported.
Majority of those that are to be dismissed are educators that teach Islamic studies, art, computer science and music.
Out of the 693 teachers stuck abroad, 321 are needed by the ministry and therefore their residency’s will be renewed. The teachers that are deemed crucial to the ministry are needed in several subjects from science based specializations (like biology and chemistry) to language teachers (mainly English and French).
The report only applies to teachers within the public sector that are managed and hired by the Ministry of Education.
Teachers stuck abroad
The 693 teachers that were reviewed in the report have been stuck outside of Kuwait since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic due to travel restrictions and lockdowns.
Two week ago, a senior governmental source told Al Anba that the Ministry of Education supports the return of non-Kuwaiti teachers. The source said that issuing new entry visas for those teachers that are stuck abroad is the best legal approach. With that being said, new visas will be mainly issued to specialized teachers that are needed by the Ministry.
In September, the Acting Undersecretary of Kuwait’s Ministry of Education, Faisal Al Maqsid, stated that according to the Cabinet of Ministers, all employees who left the country before March 12 and were unable to return due to the flight ban will be considered to be on official holiday. Therefore, they are entitled to their salaries.
In August, Kuwaiti authorities stopped renewing residency permits for non-Kuwaiti teachers stuck abroad.
