‘KU ranking among Gulf, Arab universities better’-‘Reforms must end graft, funds wastage’

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KUWAIT CITY, April 24: Kuwait University’s rank in 24th position among Arab universities and last among Gulf universities by the QS Corporation for Classification of Universities has raised varied reactions from several MPs and academics, reports Al-Kuwaitiah daily.

Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Mohammad Al-Fares said Kuwait University was ranked 30th among all Arab universities in 2015, due to which reaching 24th position in 2016 can be considered as an improvement. He stressed that Kuwait University faced many challenges in the last few years in terms of capacity, financial limits and reduced budget for scientific research.

The minister explained that Kuwait University has set a strategy for development which includes enhancing international presence, appointing new staff, supporting s c i e n t i f i c researches and encouraging creativity. The strategy also includes signing contracts with international and local universities in order to enhance their presence in Kuwait.

He revealed that the process of university classification has taken into consideration several factors such as academic reputation, number of researches published in international journals, the number of foreign students and teachers and the university’s reputation among employers. Meanwhile, a number of academics of Kuwait University insisted that the rank of Kuwait University as last among all Gulf universities is not accurate, indicating that there are 25 Gulf universities that are below Kuwait University.

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A number of economic experts unanimously agreed that the economic reform document in its amended form, which is expected to be issued shortly, will be useless if it does not solve the problems related to corruption and wastage of public funds in addition to deviation from the clear conflict in the performance of the governmental institutions in terms of specialties and execution of procedures, reports Al-Nahar daily.

During interviews with the daily, the demands of the experts varied over ways to achieve the required economic and financial reforms necessary for reviving the economy before the amended reform document is issued. They said it should refrain from consultations with the World Bank and other international organizations whose descriptions are usually not in line with the Kuwaiti reality and requirements.

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