KUWAIT: Kuwait Society for Education Quality (KSEQ) stressed that educational standards in Kuwait have been deteriorating due to several factors including failure to set effective policies and regulations, which caused the deterioration of Kuwait University (KU) and Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) outputs. "According to World Bank reports, Kuwait's public education has been suffering from the lack of good technical, human and organizational staff at the education ministry with the result that the ministry has failed in fighting fake degrees that have been destroying Kuwait," said a press release issued by KSEQ. KSEQ added that KU lacks the tools needed for academic accreditation after the national agency for academic accreditation and quality education had been "neutralized through interfering in its liabilities by governmental universities councils."

Palestinian teachers
In other news, the first batch of Palestinian teachers arrived to Kuwait recently via Jordan. The first batch includes 49 teachers out of a total of 322 teachers that the education ministry recently contracted, teaching subjects that include English and French languages, mathematics, science, PE, chemistry and physics. In this regard, informed sources said that the rest of the teachers would gradually arrive and that arrangements had been made to receive them at the airport and the ministry's temporary guest house, where they are given a temporary advance payment of KD 200 per teacher and all needed formalities are made.

Heritage village
In collaboration with Kuwait Municipality, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is scheduled to offer the heritage village project for bidding amongst the National Fund for SME Development entrepreneurs, said informed sources, noting that Municipal Council members have no objections against allocating the project to the fund in order to create more job opportunities for the Kuwaiti youth. Further, the sources said that special measures are needed to make sure entrepreneurs would not sublease their projects to expatriates or any other parties, which is a violation of the contract they would sign.

Alleged abuse
Kuwait's Ambassador in France Sami Al-Sulaiman strongly denied that a Tunisian woman who had allegedly abused Kuwait verbally in a video circulating on social media works for the embassy or any of its offices.

By A Saleh