KUWAIT: With the return of employees to work and school students to class after the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, the country’s roads witnessed normal traffic without recording any major bottlenecks or congestion on main or secondary roads. Security sources at the traffic department said all roads were passable at the beginning of the workday and no traffic jams were recorded.
They attributed this to the absence of a majority of school students, in addition to flexible working hours at all ministries, which contributed to the decrease in the number of vehicles traversing the roads, unlike previously when some highways witnessed complete paralysis and traffic grounded to a halt.
Sources said that the real test begins next week with the return of school students and some public bodies setting working hours for their employees that coincide with school timings, which may lead to blocked roads and traffic jams.
Primary, middle and secondary school students extended the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, as is their custom before and after major events and holidays. Schools in most regions and governorates witnessed mass abstentions, while some of them were completely empty of students. The low turnout of students led school administrations to cancel the morning assembly, while the education ministry activated the grade deduction system for students who are absent without a medical excuse. An educational source confirmed that all lessons will be repeated again in order to preserve the interests of the students, so that their absence does not affect their academic achievements and grades in the end-of-year exams, despite the high cost of absence to the study schedule and the mechanism for completing the curriculum.