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Rasheed Al-Hamad 
Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education
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Education Strategy and its Ability to Enhance the Quality Education for All
Kuwait has launched a new education strategy in June 2003 which will be activated in 2005 till 2025. This strategy was developed from "the National Conference on Education" 2002. It was framed by a group of educational experts and was authorized by the ministers council in its (28/2003) meeting. And this was the first strategy that Kuwait has authorized for public education.
The strategy deals with a number of main issues for education, wherein it represents the conscience of the society, and circles around its primary needs. These issues are divided into 3 major parts:
1. Time issue; which needs more of freedom of thought and effective communication with the dynamic changes, while preserving the original cultural identity of the society and its basic factors that form a challenge in preserving these invariables regarding the time variables needs. This equalizes between the variables and the invariables.The challenge we face is in decreasing the technological backwardness compared to the developed countries. It's also in tackling the low educational skills which is integral part of the information and communication technology, which has a similar role as language in communication.
The necessity of openness to the world and the positive interaction to deal with the cultural challenges existing in humans society, such as: cultural conflicts and cultural dialogue in accordance with technological revolution and breaking all the boundaries between countries as well as people.
2. The important issues concerning Kuwait' status; are mainly cultural causes that Kuwait gives a great deal of significance, such as; the need to assure the principles of dialogue, human rights, the proper direction, respect for others; opinions, following new democratic method to manage, disagreement and conflict of interests, and to face all the obstacles that stand in front of social integration in a healthy and effective manner.
The need for Kuwait society to recognize the concept of producing the wealth instead of spending it. This will be the main foundation for the national unity, the proper social movements, and the right way towards the sustainable development; to meet the social challenge, we need to develop employment policies focusing on productive jobs.
3. Challenges faced in the educational system;
- The curriculum: in which the need to find an educational system to save the basis, forming a united youth and to approach the state's goals and principles through schools and curriculums. It also enhances various chances for educated people and society to develop their skills, abilities and self-esteem.
- Organizing the educational sector and its institutions: focus must be on developing, observing, preparing, evaluating, and to underpin schools and different educational institutions.
- Art: it's necessary for the educational system to respond to the needs of students with special needs as well as normal students.
- Finance: the optimal use of the available financial resources, which prevents wasting money and utilizing it in developmental activities.
- changing the active education stages for the public educational system to become, 5 years for elementary, 4 years for intermediate, and 3 years for secondary stage. This system will be activated from the next educational year (2004/2005) instead of the current one (4-4-4).
- Unify the educational system in secondary stage to take two different lines:
- Academic line; to those who want to continue to the higher education.
- Professional and technical; to those who want to join the labor market according to his/her interests and abilities.
- E-learning technology provides the students with the facilities to acquire the knowledge and experience from its various local and international resources.