Education in Kuwait
[6] According to 2017 data from UNESCO, the literacy rate stood at 96.3% for Kuwaitis aged 25–64, compared to 80% across the MENA region.
Moreover, according to World Bank statistics from 2015, among Kuwaitis 15 and older, females have caught up to and surpassed their male peers on this metric of educational attainment, which stands, for the respective sexes, at 99.4% and 96.4%.
With this in mind, it is keen to diversify and improve the skills of its labor force; hence the high priority is given to the reform of education at all levels.
[verification needed] There were a few Quranic schools[quantify], known as Al-Katatib, funded by the wealthy private citizens of Kuwait, that taught reading, writing, and basic arithmetic.
[verification needed] With the increase in oil production and hence state revenues after World War II, the government began investing huge sums of money into social services[quantify], including education.
This effort aims to align teaching methodologies with the current needs of an increasingly globalised world.
The World Bank is conducting an analytical study to explore the various policy options needed to implement this new strategy.
Other multilateral organizations, such as the OECD, are working towards improving the business environment in Kuwait and providing training for women to promote female entrepreneurship within the country.
There are currently 591,359 students enrolled in Kuwait's schools which makes up approximately 20 percent of the entire population.
[21] In a recent development in Kuwait, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) has released data that indicates an annual increase in the number of unemployed Kuwaitis.
This upswing accompanies a rise in university graduates, particularly from fields that do not meet the current demand in the labor market.
The mismatch between the obtained skills from these specific fields and the requirements of the job market is a significant concern.
Factors such as inadequate focus on the private sector and insufficient coordination among relevant authorities also contribute to this issue.
Unless there are substantial improvements in the quality of educational outputs, the number of graduates from less-demanded fields will likely continue to increase.
As of November 19, 2023, the Central Statistics Bureau has officially declared that the number of unemployed Kuwaitis reached 8,727.
The Kuwaiti government puts about KD5.6 million per annum into private educational facilities, in addition to allocating land for school construction and paying for the distribution of books.
The launch of the 'Education Net' project is a manifestation of that, as it connects every government school and library in Kuwait to a telecommunications data network.
Girls outperform boys in every subject of the 12th-grade examinations, particularly in philosophy, English, Arabic languages, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and biology.
The Ministry of Education in Kuwait is also trying to foster the use of information technology (ICT) in schools by including e-learning in the curriculum.
The Government of Kuwait is encouraging its citizens to opt for vocational training programs to fulfill the demand for a skilled workforce.
This substantial increase was due to the introduction of new vocational programs in line with the demands of the female students.
Post-secondary education includes courses at a PAAET technical college lasting for two and a half years, following which the students receive a certificate that is less than a tertiary diploma that does allow the graduates to enter the workforce.
