KUWAIT: The education ministry's assistant undersecretary for general education Fatma Al-Kandari announced that expat teachers of certain subjects will not be laid off, adding that the Civil Service Commission (CSC) knows the ministry's needs. Responding to a question about exams, Kandari stressed that exam paper delivery boxes will be tracked by GPS devices to prevent leaks. She added that a new measure, which she refused to reveal, will be used during the final exams to prevent cheating.

Applications dropped

The Public Authority for Housing Welfare has achieved a lot of success in providing housing to long-time applicants, said informed sources, noting that applications dropped from 105,000 to 98,000 in 2017. The sources added that the authority's execution manager Ali Al-Hubail recently signed a contract with an international consultancy firm to provide advice on planning the south Sabah Al-Ahmad City project with a total value of KD 7.2 million, adding that the 24-month project will provide housing for 78,000 families. The sources also noted that 50 percent of the West Abdullah Al-Mubarak project's units have been completed and handed over two months prior to the date previously announced.

Conference center

A number of economic advisors are about to make a proposal to the new Cabinet concerning making use of the Jaber Cultural Center in turning Kuwait into a regional conference destination. A feasibility study by a team of Kuwaiti economic experts stressed that making Kuwait a destination for conferences will help lay the foundation of turning HH the Amir's wish to turn Kuwait into a regional commercial and financial hub. In this regard, informed sources said the study was strongly based on activating the development plan, including projects like the Silk City, Boubyan Port, the islands project and the Gulf railway, which will cost around KD 300 billion.

Unlicensed nurseries

Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL) inspection campaigns at various nurseries resulted in locating 125 unlicensed nurseries. They were accordingly reported to relevant authorities.

Govt buildings

Well-informed sources said that the finance ministry plans to build new government buildings to replace those rented by various governmental bodies, and thus cut expenses spent on rent. The sources added that the ministry has been studying the proposal for a while, and accordingly rejected some bodies' requests to pay high rent values for some buildings.

By A Saleh