“Long-range planning deals not with future decisions, but with the future of current decisions.” (Peter Drucker)
The Ministry of Education, as one of the state institutions, committed itself to participate in Kuwait’s development plan, and it had the lion’s share of the projects listed under the field of (creative human capital), except that Kuwait was at the bottom of the list of TIMS international tests at the global and Arab levels for this year, which raised a big question mark. Especially since the ministry has announced that it has completed 83% of one of its projects, specifically related to this matter, which was entitled “Local and international studies to measure and evaluate the education system in the State of Kuwait.” The summary of the project, which began in 2016 and based on what was mentioned on the official website (New Kuwait) on the Internet, affiliated to the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning, is to achieve excellence in the educational process and improve Kuwait’s position in global measurement and evaluation studies, which is completely contrary to the announced results.
What is really disturbing about the issue is not the arrangement, but the completion of this project in 2021. Rather, what is alarming is the goals set to achieve that improvement, which was reduced to submitting a report on deviations in the educational system after applying for (TIMMS, PIRLS, and MESA) tests and developing plans for intervention And correcting the imbalance by formulating effective educational policies after comparing them with the educational systems in the countries that excel in these international tests, which in their entirety describe the output of education in basic subjects and the English language, which we have not seen any signs of until now in the educational field.
The obvious truth here is that whoever developed the projects of the Ministry of Education and its executive objectives is far from the fundamentals of both strategic and operational planning. There is no real analysis of the current situation of the Ministry in its various sectors, and there is no connection between projects and objectives, and there are no initiatives linked to performance indicators, not even measurable results. We do not know who planned, implemented, monitored, or evaluated. And if we try to seek an excuse for the ministry’s leaders because they are not competent in educational and educational planning, and the same applies to those working in the Department of Evaluation and Quality Control of Education and the National Center for Education Development, we cannot seek the same excuse for those in charge of the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning, which is entrusted with reviewing and harmonizing plans. Scientifically and technically, in addition to following up, analyzing, and evaluating its outputs, and then developing them.
Three million and a half dinars is the value of this project only, so is there any mind that manages?! Either the time has come to save the Ministry of Education from the vortex of loss in which it is living, or the time has come to stand firm against those who, intentionally and unintentionally, drown the ministry in the quagmire of flimsy projects and sterile ideas. To enable young people to lead the ministry and advance it away from the heresy of theorizing and the arrogance of the sterile in thought, the limited in sight and insight?!
Dr. Khaled Al-Nafisi
Published in Al-Qabas newspaper
