Kuwait proposes raising private school licence fee from 15 to up to 400 dinars

Kuwait's Ministry of Education has completed a proposed fee schedule for services provided by the General Administration of Private Education to individuals, companies and government institutions, to regulate service charges and cover the costs of administrative, technical and inspection procedures, according to Times Kuwait.

The schedule has been prepared for submission to the Ministry of Finance for approval before being referred to the Council of Ministers to complete the required procedures. It covers services including the issuance and renewal of private school licences, approval of additional academic stages, authentication and equivalency of educational certificates, and other administrative and technical transactions.

Under the proposal, a new private school licence will cost 200 dinars for schools offering two academic stages, 300 dinars for three stages and 400 dinars for four stages, across all educational systems, up from a previous flat fee of 15 dinars. The proposed fee for adding a new academic stage is 100 dinars.

The ministry justified the new licensing charges by the work involved in assessing each project, including preparing technical and educational feasibility studies, conducting legal research, creating the institution's file in various government systems and evaluating the building's capacity, as well as inspecting facilities and technical equipment for the proposed stage, approving curricula and conducting field visits.

For licence renewals, the ministry proposed an annual fee of 25 dinars, or 75 dinars for a three-year renewal, compared with a previous fee of 10 dinars. It said the charges would help cover the costs of periodic inspection committees that check schools' compliance with security, safety, health and educational requirements.

The schedule also includes a two-dinar charge for selected administrative services, such as issuing experience certificates to private school employees, processing requests for visits to General Fire Force and Ministry of Health buildings, and certifying the accuracy of information in contracts between school owners and teachers.

Fees for services related to academic certificates have been set at no more than one dinar, including authentication of transfer and academic progression certificates, certification of copies and issuance of equivalency certificates.

The proposed schedule still awaits the required financial and government approvals before the new charges can be implemented.