By KUNA
Kuwait : Interpellation is a constitutional tool guaranteed by the constitution and is not one that should be used for creating a political crisis, said MP Dr. Saad Al-Shuraya’e on Tuesday.
Speaking at the discussion of the interpellation motion filed by the MP against Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education Nouriya Al-Subeeh, he said the aim of the grilling was “to bring about reform.” He added that he was “forced to file the interpellation motion after a dead end was reached with the education minister,” whom he said had not given any indication for reform during the nine months that she had been in office.
“We did not demand that the minister bring about immediate reform … but what we witnessed was a deterioration in one of the country’s most important institutions, which is responsible for our children … education comes second in the list of interests of the minister, bringing about a deterioration in the sector,” he claimed.
Al-Shuraya’e spoke of the first axis of the interpellation, which includes the minister’s accusation of in an interview published in a local newspaper that some MPs were applying pressure on her to appoint certain people in the ministry, and demanded that she disclose their names.
The MP also spoke of the topic dealing with “ridiculing” MPs and saying that there were those in the ministry “who leak information to MPs.” He said the minister “is implying that MPs are the reason behind corruption in the Education Ministry, and said in an interview that there are MPs who hinder her efforts for reform.” Moreover, he noted the aspect related to the minister’s hiding of facts and lack of cooperation with the parliament over the resignation of Dr. Ghazi Al-Risheedi, director of the National Center for the Development of Education, whose resignation she had said “cited no reasons.”
He cited minutes of two parliament sessions in which the minister contradicted her own statements over the resignation of Al-Risheedi.
Moreover, he noted that Al-Subeeh had accused education undersecretaries and other leaders of “spying and lack of cooperation,” which he said “contradicted with her duties (as minister).” On the second axis, Al-Shuraya’e spoke of administrative and legal violations in which “educational values were overlooked and the future of the country was threatened” because of the minister’s engagement in what he described as “the settlement of scores against those who are ‘not in her camp’.
” The MP also said the minister had defended ministry officials who were found to have forged official documents when she was asked by the parliament why they had not be referred to prosecution.
Al-Shuraya’e added that the “incident that presented the greatest violation” was when the minister promoted a ministry director to the position of assistant undersecretary “despite his failure three times in examinations for supervisory positions and her request for an investigation into complaints filed against him.”
As for the third axis of the interpellation, which is related to the deterioration of the level of education while the minister “settled scores” with ministry leaders, MP Al-Shuraya’e noted the World Bank report which ranked Kuwait at 43 out of 45 countries in the educational field.
He also cited “serious mistakes” in fifth grade history books relating to the ruling family.
Moreover, he said the statements published in local newspapers by teachers and faculty of Kuwait University and the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) “all warn of an imminent catastrophe in the educational sector and describe the minister as dictator.” And in the fourth and final axis relating to disregarding social values, he noted the failure to implement the gender segregation law in private universities and the prohibition of holding mixed parties.
He said some universities held mixed parties “to collect money for orphans, ” as well as mixed outings that the minister acknowledged were “taking place with the approval of parents.” Al-Shuraya’e also said a private university held a mixed sports day and swimming competition, while a book fair at one of the colleges of PAAET included books of sexual orientation, which he said Al-Subeeh simply referred to as “a conspiracy, and the books were embedded.” He also cited the sexual assault in elementary school student in Ardiya, and wondered why the minister had not visited the school and investigated the incident.
The MP criticized the minister for denying the incident at first and then apologizing and acknowledging it, adding that “her apology to parents of the victims was not sufficient.”
Furthermore, he noted the “new sexual scandal” by a teacher in one of the schools in Abu Halifa, which was made public yesterday, warning that “the series of sexual assaults will not end as long as corruption remained rampant in the educational sector.”
Al-Shuraya’e also said the list of teachers who received bonuses two days ago included expatriates whose contracts had ended and others were did not meet the criteria.
He concluded his presentation with saying that the Education Ministry was suffering from many problems and that serious efforts for reform were needed.