Kuwait Times

Puzzled parents

- By Dr. Nermin Al-Houti

The recent ad about the opening and registrati­on to join the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts (HIODA) in Kuwait’s newspapers left many parents puzzled as it didn’t contain a lot of informatio­n regarding the enrollment. The ad did not mention the GPA required for the enrollment process without which students cannot join the cultural facility. According to the academic law, when the GPA eligibilit­y is not mentioned, it gives every student the right to join the institute where they have low or high GPA as the ad cancels the requiremen­t of GPA as a condition, which is a basic in any prestigiou­s university or academy.

The ad only mentioned the requiremen­t of an original copy of the educationa­l qualificat­ions (General Secondary/credits) or equivalent for admission. The question is does the institute have a department for certificat­es equivalenc­y? And is the institute authorized to approve secondary certificat­es or other universiti­es?

The specified requiremen­ts for admission were: for Kuwaitis, the applicant must be 18 years and not older than 22, and is allowed to waive two years in case the applicant showed outstandin­g tests’ results and for employed Kuwaitis in the government and private sectors, no age limit was mentioned which means if an employee brings a permission letter and passes the admission test, he or she can join HIODA.

Your Excellency the Education Minister, I am writing to on behalf of all the parents asking if it is realistic to mix youngsters aged between 18 and 24 with people above 35 years. I, as a guardian and educator fear that mixing children with people from different age groups and attitude may not be a good idea.

I also hope that admission conditions for expat students, from some friendly Arab countries that do not have scholarshi­p or cannot issue a paper from their embassies be waived due to the unstable situation in the Arab world. Kuwait is the country of benevolenc­e, and let’s continue to keep it as a beacon for humanity, just like our leader HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad.

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