KUWAIT: The Ministry of Education (MoE) is committed to paying the rent allowance difference to female expat teachers retroactively as per a Civil Service Commission (CSC) decision, MOE’s Assistant Undersecretary for Financial Affairs Yousif Al-Najjar stressed. “MoE is an executive body and the ruling made by the constitutional court is mandatory and unquestionable,” he said, strongly denying that the ministry is manipulating teachers.He was referring to a court ruling which ordered the ministry to pay female expatriate teachers the same allowance paid to male teachers.

“We have a decision from the CSC on adjusting expat female teachers’ rent allowance from KD 90 to KD 150 retroactively at a total cost of KD 47 million,” he explained, noting that MoE has asked the finance ministry to provide the sum but has not received any response yet. “The due sums will be paid sooner or later,” he added, further indicated that if not paid this year, they would be paid next year after the new budget is approved in April. “This decision has nothing to do with reducing the rent allowance to KD 60,” he remarked, referring to the CSC’s recent decision this year to cut the monthly allowance back by KD 90.

Najjar said that the amount would be paid as soon as the money arrives from the finance ministry and that the teachers should not sue the ministry or be abused by law firms urging them to do so and waste their money, as their rights are protected by law. “MoE was not a party in the case filed by a teacher against the CSC decision, who later got a constitutional court ruling annulling it, and accordingly, CSC decided paying the difference to all expat female teachers retroactively since 2011,” he explained, promising expat female teachers will get their rights in full.

By A Saleh