KUWAIT CITY, Sept 3: The new academic year for the students of intermediate public schools across the country began on Monday, Sept 3. On the first day of the new academic year, some minor issues were witnessed such as malfunctioning of some air conditioning units in about 30 schools in various educational zones including some kindergarten schools in Qusour area due to delay in maintenance.

Some school administrations called the students’ guardians and asked them to collect their children due to the high temperatures and problems in the air-conditioning units. Some teachers also complained about lack of cleaners as well as water coolers in certain schools.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Education has started taking prompt procedures to fill teaching staff vacancies by expediting procedures in signing contracts with teachers from outside of Kuwait. According to sources, the ministry has booked the plane tickets for the new teachers who contracted with the ministry from Jordan.

They will arrive in Kuwait next week, while the Tunisian teachers will arrive the week after. The ministry is still working on completing the procedures for bringing the new Palestinian teachers including obtaining all necessary security approvals, after which their plane tickets will be booked.

Furthermore, Ibn Tufail Intermediate School for Boys in Jahra area witnessed a minor fire incident early in the morning. The fire was controlled by both the administration staff and firefighters, due to which no casualties were reported. The operation happened in the presence of Director of Jahra Educational Zone Walid Al-Ghaith.

In addition, Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Hamid Al-Azmi, and Undersecretary of Ministry of Education Dr Haitham Al-Atari conducted a field tour of a number of public schools. Al-Azmi congratulated the administrations of these schools as well as the teachers and students for the start of the new academic year. He asked the students to exert utmost efforts and make use of all available facilities to ensure the year ends successfully and to participate in the development of their country.

By Rana Salem Al-Seyassah Staff

Source: Arab Times

MP proposes to cancel Article 104 of Law 17/1996

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 30: Wataniya Airways has taken a number of operational measures to curb the mistakes that led to the recent chaos that besieged the local aviation sector, which is still reeling from what happened, reports Al-Anba daily quoting informed sources.

These mistakes had caused much havoc to the passengers especially those who had traveled for Eid Al-Adha holidays or for summer vacation, as either flights were cancelled or there were no seats for passengers.

The measures taken by the airlines are as follows:-

1. Reduce aircraft fleet utilization rate to nine hours per day instead of 13 hours per day

2. Reduce the number of daily flights to five only by rescheduling some routes and reducing the number of flights to one destination

3. Fly twice a week to one destination such as Spain, Georgia and Beirut

4. Work towards passengers’ satisfaction and prevent delay in flights

5. Upgrading the services offered to passengers, starting with the weight of the luggage, boarding pass facilities and in-flight services.

According to sources, the company’s management has been in continuous touch with the Council of Ministers in the past few days. A number of meetings were held during which discussions were concerning the measures taken by the airlines in light of the recent crisis.

Meanwhile MP Abdulwahab Al- Babtain has proposed the cancellation of Article 104 of Law No. 17/1996 concerning the penal procedural law which allows the executive authority to suspend investigations, reports Al- Anba daily.

In the explanatory memo, MP Al- Babtain explained that the objective behind cancelling this article is to achieve justice, which is the main role of a judge and the responsibility of the judiciary. The judicial authority is the sole responsible entity for suspending investigations of a case on a final basis.

The executive authority is not supposed to have the authority of suspending investigations in accordance to article 50 of the Constitution, which stipulates that, “The system of Government is based on the principle of separation of powers functioning in cooperation with each other in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. None of these powers may relinquish all or part of its competence specified in this Constitution”.

He said, “The authority of litigation in the Constitution is stated as, “The right of recourse to the courts is guaranteed to all people. aw prescribes the procedure and manner necessary for the exercise of this right”. Therefore, since we are in a civil country, it is not allowed to give the right to suspend investigations to any individual or entity, as it is the right of the judicial entity, the sole purpose of which is to ensure justice is served.

Source: Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 30: The Interior Ministry has submitted a complaint to the Attorney General, accusing a number of employees in an oil company of rejecting measures taken by the military forces in charge of securing Burgan gate especially with regard to inspection of vehicles and persons, reports Al-Anba daily.

The ministry said in its complaint that the company workers gathered in front of the northern Burgan gate, rejecting the request of the soldier assigned by the Department of Protection of Vital Installations to park their vehicles outside the gate and enter through the pedestrian gate in light of instructions given to the military to tighten security at the gates of restricted areas.

The ministry said the union of employees of the company, whose members met to discuss discontent over implementation of security measures, issued a statement threatening to protest.

The ministry monitored hashtags on social media platforms, inciting the company’s employees not to comply with the security instructions of competent authorities, while mentioning the names of accounts and users who published these hashtags especially since some of them posted indecent phrases. Legal action will be taken against some Twitter users, the ministry said.

Source: Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 30: In an audio clip, an activist accused some female teachers of kindergarten schools of stealing husbands from their wives. She alleged that the teachers call the husbands to report about their wards’ strange behaviors such as their strange drawings and so on, and then request those husbands to visit the school for discussions.

She urged women to stand firm and ring-fence teachers who request to meet parents in order to keep their husbands safe. She stressed the need for them to inform the school administration to contact the mother of the wards, not the father. This audio clip went viral on social media and was met with outrage.

During an interview, educationists expressed their anger over the audio clip, considering it as libel and slander against the female teachers of kindergarten schools.

They called for legal action to be taken against the activist who offended the teachers, especially since some lawyers have affirmed that she is subject to punishment for libel and slander over the audio clip. Some teachers explained that parents do not communicate at all with the female teachers in light of directives from the administrations of kindergarten schools.

If need arises, the students’ mothers are contacted only by the social workers and the administrations. They urged Ministry of Education and Kuwait Teachers Society to respond to the humiliation of female teachers and expedite in enacting the teachers-protection law as well as add in the law cyber-bullying of educational institutions in order to preserve the professional and moral rights of teachers.

It is worth mentioning that teachers and ministry officials have been calling for passing the teachers-protection law for more than six years due to the increase in verbal and physical abuse of teachers and administrative staff by students and parents.

Some positive steps were taken by the leadership of Kuwait Teachers Society and Ministry of Education to expedite the passing of the law after repetitive incidences of attacks on the administrative and teaching staff.

By Rana Salem Al-Seyassah Staff

Source: Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 30: The Safety Department of Mubarak Al- Kabeer Municipality conducted a field inspection of several companies in Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate during which the team issued citations worth KD 84,000, reports Al-Seyassah daily Director of the department Eng Maysa Boushahri explained in a press statement that the inspection team issued a citation to a company which had an expired license and had illegally utilized a state property of area 10,000 square meters as offices and storage areas for tools and machines.

The citations worth KD 84,000 were issued in accordance with the decision No. MB/84/11/148 issued by the Municipal Council. The department also issued warnings to the violating companies to avoid fines. After the warning expires, citations will be issued, and the law will take its course thereafter.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Department of Kuwait Municipality urged the public to call its hotline No. 139 or send a message to any of the Municipality’s social media accounts to report any complaints, affirming that instant responses will be taken concerning the complaints

Source: Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 30: Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Public Authority for Food and Nutrition, Director- General Issa Al-Kandari said since the transfer of power on food safety and security to the Authority there is a qualitative shift in the work done by its Food Control Department to ensure foodstuffs sold in the market is good for human consumption, reports Al-Rai daily.

Al-Kandari told the daily the central laboratory of the Authority is still with the Kuwait Municipality and is expected to be handed over to the Authority at the beginning of next year, citing to officials from the Kuwait Municipality. He pointed out the Authority has examined more than 252,000 food samples since October 2017, and collected a total of 112,345 samples of different food items during inspection rounds and examined them on the spot as a precautionary.

This was done since December 1, 2017 until July 1, 2018. He added, more than 260 tons of inedible food was destroyed during inspection tours in all provinces of Kuwait. He explained 1,400 kilos of foodstuffs unfit for human consumption is being destroyed almost on a daily basis.