By Majd Othman

KUWAIT: Kuwait Public Relations Association hosted on Tuesday a seminar that discussed the quality of education in Kuwait and methods to improve the education system. The seminar was held under the theme "National Forum for Quality Education in Kuwait" in the presence of specialists and a number of people interested in the field of education.

Abdulwahab Al-Hajji, head of the Kuwaiti project for youth rehabilitation and moderator of the seminar, told Kuwait Times the association aims to transfer experiences to the younger generation, the government, schools in the private and government sectors, and all those interested in raising the educational level in Kuwait through constructive criticism of current errors and highlighting previous experiences, whether local or external.

The seminar saw participation by Bader bin Ghaith, activist in the field of education, Nawaf Al-Kandari, activist in the field of training, Bader Al-Yaqoot, community entrepreneur, Bedour Al-Sumait, President of the Business Women Network in Kuwait, and Mershed Al-Mershed, CEO of Arab Al-Jazeera General Contracting Company.

Bin Ghaith said: "We need a major change in the concept of quality education, which is not limited only to schools. It should start from nurseries to any entity that provides education, in which education must be controlled in order to obtain distinctive outcomes that contribute to improving the labor market."

Yaqoot pointed out: "The quality of education in Kuwait must be developed in order to redevelop its methodology to keep pace with the modern era of technology, in addition to the importance of integration in the educational process between teachers, students and the curriculum. We need to develop legislation related to the educational process and apply it on the ground, and not only laws that are enacted without taking them into account. If modern legislation is applied in the educational process, there will be a great development in educational outcomes."

Sumait said it has taken a long time to develop the education system, especially in the governmental sector. "We hope there will be a bigger move and a radical change in educational methods that differ with the entry of online education into the teaching system, which led to a big gap between us and developed countries in relying more on online education. Therefore, we must reduce this difference to be able to keep pace with the world," she said.

Sumait said the current market needs educated people and degree-holders to achieve success in the business field. "Everything today is related to education, and our role is to educate young people about the importance of education and its use in practical life, in addition to the need to direct students towards the needs of the labor market to contribute in several aspects, whether to develop the student's professional side and achieve success or to the growth and development of the country," she added.

Kandari stressed the curriculum in Kuwait is very dated and needs to be revised, elaborating that the educational system is suffering from unqualified teachers. "We need to face the traditional methods of traditional teachers, in addition to the big void between families, students and teachers," he said. "There is a battle with legislation to be an ally of the student and not against them, and the reasons are very clear with the un-upgraded educational system we have, in addition that the teacher does not have any authority over the student anymore, which decreases the discipline of students to make an effort," he added.

Mershed addressed the audience on the importance of holding degrees. "Competition today in the market is very big and needs skills that keep pace with what is in the market. Through my practical experience at work, I advise young people to develop their skills by taking training courses that contribute to developing their skills, especially since most workers in the market have high degrees, which creates intense competition in the market," he said.