KUWAIT: The Ministry of Education approved on Sunday the academic calendar for religious education for the years 2024-2025. The program is for all employees and learners in various educational stages. The Ministry said in a press statement that according to the calendar, the attendance of first-grade learners in the primary stage will begin on September 16, while the attendance of the rest of learners in the primary, intermediate, and secondary stages will begin on the 17th of the same month.

The mid-year vacation will start from January 19 until the 30th of the same month, while the second semester will begin on February 2 for all stages. The end of the primary school year will be on May 29, while the intermediate school exams will be held between May 8 and 21, 2025. The end-of-semester exams for the secondary school stage will be held between May 4 and 21, 2025, while the dates for the 12th grade exams were set for the period between June 1 and 23, 2025.

In another development, Minister of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy and Minister of State for Housing Affairs Dr Mahmoud Bushehri stressed the need for coordination between the Ministry of Education and the Public Authority for Housing Welfare to expedite the resolutions in relation to government schools that were recently handed over to the Ministry of Education in Mutlaa City.

This came in a statement by the minister during an inspection tour on Sunday of a number of government schools in Mutlaa City to check their readiness to receive students at the beginning of the new school year. He pointed out the importance of ensuring that schools are fully equipped and furnished before the start of the school year in implementation of the principle of government work integration and implementation of the directives of the Council of Ministers.

IBS scholarship program

Meanwhile, the Institute of Banking Studies (IBS) announced on Sunday an internal scholarship program for Kuwaitis to obtain a master’s degree in financial technology in cooperation with Kuwaiti banks and the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST). Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the IBS Basel Al-Haroun said in a press statement that the program comes within the framework of the strategic endeavor to build highly qualified national cadres in the financial and banking industries. — KUNA