KUWAIT CITY, March 19: A group of expatriate teachers have expressed disappointment over the decision of the Ministry of Education not to renew the employment contracts of 10 expatriate teachers without any valid reason, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting sources.

Sources said speculations are rife that the decision was taken because some teachers presented their grievances two years ago, including their demand to increase salaries in accordance with their qualifications.

Meanwhile, a teacher who requested anonymity, said he repeatedly demanded for the payment of his financial privileges yet no concrete step was taken in this regard, so he had no recourse but to seek the assistance of the court. After some time, the court issued a ruling obliging the ministry to increase his salary and to pay retroactively. The court ordered the ministry to pay him a total of KD 7,500 including the salary difference and accommodation allowance. A similar ruling was issued in favor of 46 other teachers but some of them were shocked when they received a letter from the ministry on the termination of their services, he added.

Sources said many teachers withdrew their complaints after hearing about the decision for fear of meeting the same fate. Sources revealed the teachers tried to obtain their rights through legal channels and they asked for the intervention of their embassies to meet Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf but their efforts proved futile.

In another development, Assistant Undersecretary for Public Education at Ministry of Education Mohammad Al-Kandari says the Growth and Development Unit in the Planning and Information Department of the ministry has concluded preparation of the new job descriptions for teachers, reports Al-Rai daily.

He indicated that the new job descriptions includes major assignments required to be executed in the schools by the teachers.

Al-Kandari disclosed that the ministry has included the job descriptions in the new organizational structure, which will be presented to the Civil Service Commission for approval, adding that the draft focuses more on learning and education aspects concerning performance of teachers in the classroom and school.

He said the teachers will not be expected to handle any administrative responsibilities that are not included in their job profiles in order to avoid overlapping of responsibilities.

Meanwhile, Al-Kandari indicated that the Administrative Affairs Department is in charge of fixing the value of supervision allowance for the heads of administrative departments, stressing that the Public Education Department is not involved in this aspect.

He stated that the supervisors are part of the organizational structure based on academic attainment.