KUWAIT: MoE exempted teachers working in Sabah Al-Ahmed and Ali Sabah Al-Salem from an earlier decision banning their transfer outside these areas. Education Minister Hamed Al-Azmi decided amending the second article of the ministerial decision number 220/2018 issued in this regard. In another educational concern, MoE set today as the deadline to transfer teachers amongst various schools, said informed sources, noting that a meeting was held yesterday between educational area directors and MoE's assistant undersecretary for public education Fatima Al-Kandari to discuss facilitating registering bedoon students and the grandchildren of military personnel in schools in the areas they reside in.

Fake degrees

The criminal court yesterday heard the case of fake university degrees in which an Egyptian and some citizens are accused. Speaking before the court, the Egyptian defendant denied all charges on grounds that he was not in charge of endorsing citizens' degrees. "I only endorsed expats' degrees", he argued. Notably, the case started when a citizen reported that an Egyptian working for the ministry of higher education took money from him to endorse a fake degree he brought from an Egyptian university, adding that the defendant later started stalling and told him that he could not do it although he had done the same with other citizens. Investigating the matter, ministry of higher education found the defendant and other Kuwaiti employees guilty, in addition to other accomplices in Cairo, which made Education Minister Hamed Al-Azmi refer the entire file to the public prosecution. In another legal concern, the criminal court yesterday adjourned hearing of a case filed against some sport authority employees and others over charges of public fund violations related to Jaber Stadium's tender.

MP membership cancellations

Well-informed sources stressed that the government is currently preparing a request to be passed to the parliament before opening the new term on Oct 30 to discuss cancelling the membership of MPs Waleed Al-Tabtabaei and Jamaan Al-Harbash in the first session and prior to discussing grilling motions pending against HH the PM, the minister of state for Assembly affairs and any others. The sources added that the government believes that the court of cassation's verdict sentencing the MPs to 40 months in prison was final and this calls for annulling both MPs' membership.

The sources said some lawmakers had been stalling and delaying the vote on cancelling the two MPs' membership with hopes that they could get a general amnesty first. "The government notified certain MPs that rejecting the vote would mean going directly to the constitutional court," the sources added, noting that the government totally rejects the amnesty bill and deems it unconstitutional. Moreover, the sources said that the government will call for by-elections to elect substitutes for Tabtabaei and Al-Harbash by April.

By A Saleh