Teachers may be paid ‘screen allowance’

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 7: After the Fatwa and Legislation Department approved the Ministry of Education’s query regarding the eligibility to pay a screen allowance to Kuwaiti teachers and the like for the last academic year and the second semester of the preceding year, after adopting the e-learning process through computers, the newspaper learned from its sources that the Ministry of Education has referred the issue to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) concerning eligibility to pay the screen allowance, given that the last year and the second semester of the previous year the educators worked (online), and were using computer screens, reports Al-Jarida daily.

The sources said the ministry is awaiting a response from the CSC, to determine the allowance. However, according to the relevant decision the CSC pays 20 dinars for those who use the devices but don’t come in direct contact with the public and 30 dinars for those who directly interact with the public.

The sources added the CSC is expected to agree to pay the allowance to Kuwaiti teachers and the like, pointing out that the transformation of education in schools from traditional to electronic, during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, is what prompted the Ministry of Education to demand this allowance for teachers.

The sources say in the event the CSC approves, the funds will be disbursed from the fiscal 2021/2022, which ends in March 2022, adding that the ministry may request for additional budget to pay the teachers retroactively who number more than 50 thousand and the disbursement money may reach 8 million dinars.