Butchering The Education Cow

By Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan, Editor-in-Chief of Kuwait Times.

It is no secret that Kuwait is facing a political crisis. Hung parliament, dissolved parliament, boxing, wrestling, fights and circus stunts - the Kuwaiti political scene has witnessed it all in the last five years. The political crisis is far from over and yes, there may be short-term solutions that work as temporary painkillers. However, Kuwait needs a long term solution and that solution is education.

When an educated MP makes it with 10,000 votes in his constituency, you will find that the majority of his voters have at maximum a high school degree that they probably got with bribes, left, right and centre. Trust me, I know someone who graduated from a school in Mangaf just by getting his teachers fresh vegetables from his dad's farm!

Back to our subject, most of these not-so-educated voters support him not for an agenda that serves the country's benefit, but for his tribal roots, his religious roots or simply the best thing you could ever offer anyone - 'free money' - which is why we have a very spoilt nation that asks for things such as "drop our debts". I wouldn't be surprised if they soon started asking for free Ferraris or Lamborghinis.

Of course even the highly educated are easily seduced by free money, but what I am trying to say is that it's easier for a smart educated person to understand that the good of the country is to his and his family's long term benefit. As a famous Arabic saying goes, "an educated person would understand that it's better to take care of a cow and sell its milk than butcher it and enjoy one large feast".

The level of education in Kuwait has unfortunately deteriorated ever since the 1990 invasion. Now I know that some officials might say that we have spent millions to improve schools. Yes, that may be the case, but a nice building does not educate me if I don't have the right calibre of teachers. The majority of investments made to improve schools in Kuwait have gone into buildings and a breakfast meal for kids rather than the quality of education.

The syllabus used in our schools might need an update but the truth is the main reason our education system is deteriorating is corruption. There are kids who take it to their heart and put in the effort to learn in our schools and they get a proper education. However, many of them just buy their grades because teachers are underpaid and the system is built on a high level of trust that used to be perfect in an era when one person's word was stronger than a contract.

This week I was extremely disappointed when parliament rejected a proposed salary hike for teachers as I hoped that such a hike will improve the quality of teachers who accept teaching positions in Kuwait and that would be at least one step in the right direction. I was also very surprised when I realised that it was our educated female MPs who voted against the teachers rather than the ones who put this country in the political predicament it is in.

What a shame and what a disappointment this was to education in Kuwait. Which brings me to the conclusion that either these highly educated MPs think that it is easier to control uneducated masses - or their families owned big farms as well!