Kuwait University to delay Kuwaitization

The Kuwait University Council has agreed to stop Kuwaitization for the next four years in order to meet the number of students accepted during the current academic year at the university and to meet the academic requirements, reports Al-Qabas daily. The university’s Human Resources Department had submitted a memorandum to the university council during its last meeting held on December 29. It included items previously approved by the university council, namely, the non-compliance with the Resolution No. 11/2017 of the Civil Service Council regarding the preparation and specific rates for the Kuwaitization of jobs. The Kuwaitization of jobs at the university should be in a manner that is in line with the nature of work there and the needs of work centers, and in a manner that achieves a balance between Kuwaitization and maintaining the cadres and the accumulated technical and administrative experiences that achieve raising the level of university education.

The memorandum stipulated that the university council had requested last August for the requirements to meet the increase in student seats by supporting the budget through the approval of an additional budget, stopping the university’s Kuwaitization policy for a period of four years, allowing the appointment of Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti employees with experience and practical competence to fill the shortages in positions in administrative and technical colleges and work centers, providing the necessary positions, and increasing the salaries of university employees.

The university council, in its approval of the postponement of Kuwaitization policy, relied on public universities Law No. 76/2019, which stipulates that the university council shall assume the competencies of the Civil Service Council in the affairs of the academic body or its employees set by the Council of Public Universities. The Civil Service Commission (CSC) had approached Kuwait University to terminate the services of 391 non-Kuwaiti employees out of a total of 534 non-Kuwaiti employees in order to achieve the Kuwaitiization rates mentioned in the replacement decision. The affected ones were mostly 92 employees holding administrative support jobs, 58 employees holding engineering jobs, 22 employees each in jobs of information systems and technology, and science, 14 employees in literature, media, arts and public relations jobs, and 17 employees in finance, economics and trade, while the rest are from all other jobs.