By B Izzak

KUWAIT: A number of students at the college of law, Kuwait University, staged a protest on Thursday outside the university administration in protest against a decision to close mixed education classes in implementation of a 1996 law to impose sex segregation at Kuwait University. The Law College Students’ Society said it will file an urgent case before the administrative court to stop the closure, saying the decision was unnecessary and will disrupt study at those classes.

The decision was taken earlier this week by new Education and Higher Education Minister Adel Al-Mane, appointed just last week, and acting Kuwait University Direct Fayez Al-Dhafiri, and implemented on Wednesday, just three days before the start of the new educational year at the college of law. Dhafiri said that the decision came in implementation of the 1996 law that banned mixed education at Kuwait University, despite a ruling by the Constitutional Court in 2015 allowing mixed education only when it was necessary and under exceptional cases.

Islamist MP Mohammad Hayef, who heads a parliamentary committee for virtue and Islamic principles, said on Wednesday that the committee agreed with the higher education minister and the Kuwait University Director to apply the 1996 law banning mixed education. Students were furious at the decision because it came at the last moment when they had almost completed the registration of subjects for the upcoming semester, opening on Sunday.

Abdullah Al-Kundari, representative of the college of law students, told reporters that the decision was taken only on Wednesday, just three days before the start of the new academic year. He said this will completely disrupt the registration of subjects for the next semester and the college administration will not succeed in re-registering subjects of some 3,500 students. This is impossible, he said.

Member of the students society, Sager Mohammad, said the decision is ill-advised for this year and maybe it could be implemented next year. Former MP Hisham Al-Saleh blasted the minister of higher education, claiming he took the decision in order to protect his post, adding that the constitutional court ruling has allowed mixed-education under emergency circumstances.