‘Kuwait’s integrated educational system on par with that of S’pore’
Two-semester system alleviates stress: officials
KUWAIT CITY, April 3, (Agencies): Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education Dr. Mohammed Al-Fares said that the “integrated system” is a Kuwaiti educational project of a global nature that
is similar to Singapore’s experience in this field and competes with it.
Al-Fares said in an interview with the local daily ‘Al-Seyassah’ published on Monday that the ministry is going through a real and integrated experiment for the development of education, consisting of five axes, pointing out that the project of “integrated system” will bear fruit during the next five years.
He explained that the project will be carried out by international consultants in cooperation with their Kuwaiti counterparts and experts in the field of education, indicating that it is related to the development of curricula through the curriculum competencies, raise the performance of the teacher and the development of schools.
He said that national testing procedures, national measurement, decision-making mechanism and organizing the organizational structure of educational institutions will start soon, pointing out that the ministry is working on transferring this experiment, in its second year, to other countries.
Meanwhile, some education officials are of the view that cancellation of the four-semester system has benefited students, parents and teachers a great deal. They added application of the two-semester system alleviated stress on the students and teachers, reports Al-Anba daily.
Records
Director of Jahra Educational Zone Waleed Ben Ghaith pointed to the main difference between the old and the new system. He explained the old system preserved the cumulative records of secondary school students as follows; Grade 10 (10 percent), Grade 11 (30 percent) and Grade 12 (60 percent). He added the two semester system also preserves the marks for Grade 12 by 100 percent.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kuwait Teachers Society (KTS) Mutee Al-Ajmi stressed the cancellation of first and third semester exams is welcomed by teachers, students and parents in proportion to plans to review curriculum and specific subjects. He noted some students were having difficulty with the high number of lessons.
Manager of Balat Al-Shuhada Secondary School for Boys Khalid Al-Saeed stated the new system has contributed to reduce absenteeism, which was generally witnessed among the students ahead of first and third semester exams. He added some subjects have been replaced by two or three short exams. “This is one negative consequence of the decision”, he added.
Manager of Munira Al-Sabah Secondary School for Girls Sawsan Al-Kandari also said the new system eases stress on families and teachers, although the curricular still needs to be revised and reformed.
Technical Supervisor of Psychiatric Services Badria Al-Rouqi indicated the new system places the marks in the hands of teachers, which is a great source of worry, as they might abuse the code of ethics based on personal relationships with students.