Manama: Students’ class attendance will be used to determine their grades, a Kuwaiti education ministry official has said.
Under a new decision, students who do not present valid excuses for missing classes will be punished by having their lack of attendance counted against their grades.
The decision was made following reports that indicated that students tended not to show up for classes just before or after holidays and prolong their days off.
Mariam Al Wateed, the ministry undersecretary, said that the decision would be implemented staring the current academic year, adding that the country’s education districts have been informed about it and that directives have been given to warn parents and students, local Arabic daily Al Watan reported on Wednesday.
The education ministry has been trying for years to address the phenomenon of student absenteeism after it reached alarming levels.
Various ways to encourage school attendance have been considered, but they have invariably failed to curb the phenomenon, prompting the ministry to opt for using attendance in the determination of grades.
