In our country, under the Ministry of Education, we stumble from one curriculum crisis to another. Stumble after stumble. New curricula are introduced before the old ones have even settled in the minds of our children. We now live in a constant race of curriculum changes, all in the name of so-called “development”—yet with unconvincing reasons.
Today, the competency-based curriculum is being mourned in its final days, with officials showing no regret for the wasted millions siphoned from public funds and citizens’ livelihoods, all under the pretense of “serving the students—our most precious resource.” But this time, patience has run dry.
When we warned that competency-based curricula do not suit our Kuwaiti environment, our words fell on deaf ears. When we said that the World Bank should not interfere—imposing curricula designed to fit their societies, not ours—no one listened. Has the market of educational standards become like a bazaar, where curricula are bought and sold? Or is this a policy without conviction, forced upon us regardless of its fit?
The truth is plain: our country might soon enter the Guinness World Records for the number of times curricula have been changed, not to mention the number of education ministers we have cycled through since liberation. Is it reasonable that our children’s education has been reduced to a matter of supply and demand—sometimes even compulsion—without real dialogue?
Now we hear that the competency-based curriculum does not align with our Kuwaiti environment, culture, or values. Where were the curriculum committees and the so-called experts before implementation? Why was no evaluation conducted? Do we not now have capable Kuwaiti professionals who can create new standards, more suitable and knowledgeable than foreign experts? Must we always turn to outsiders?
The Ministry of Education still tells us fairy tales—like the magic lamp story we believed as children, until we grew up and realized it was pure fantasy. We no longer believe the stories we are told.
I will say it clearly, without fear: most of those responsible are irresponsible. Our country needs a moral awakening. Those who know their curricula do not match our culture or values, yet continue down this path, are failing us. Evaluation should have come before adoption. It is unacceptable to impose the agendas of others for their own gain. The World Bank did not hand us these curricula as charity.
And now, with new curricula on the horizon, the cycle of waste begins again. Local “experts” will draft new standards, while training programs will be rolled out for supervisors, department heads, and teachers. Huge sums will be poured into meetings with international consultants from the U.S. and Britain. And yet, we hear the same old excuses: we fear parents being exploited by study note writers, we want to lighten schoolbags, we want to digitize the curricula.
But this curriculum saga has become nothing more than a myth.
I leave it to you, esteemed readers, to discuss this grave matter.
