KUWAIT CITY, June 12: The Kuwaiti Ministry of Education announced on Wednesday a significant drop in the number of students barred from taking high school exams on the first day of the academic year 2024-2025, for both the science and arts sections, compared to the same period last year.

In an official press statement, the ministry reported that 56 students were barred from exams this year, compared to 90 cases in 2023, representing a 37.8 percent decrease. The decline, the ministry noted, reflects heightened awareness among students and the effectiveness of preventive and organizational measures put in place within examination committees.

The science section saw the most notable improvement, with cases of students barred from the mathematics exam falling 54.4 percent, dropping from 57 last year to 26 this year. Meanwhile, the arts section recorded a more modest decline of 9.1 percent in the French language exam, with 30 students barred compared to 33 the previous year.

According to the ministry, this “positive decline” underscores the success of efforts made by educational and administrative teams to foster a disciplined exam environment. It also highlights the impact of awareness campaigns aimed at students and teachers, which emphasized the importance of complying with exam regulations and avoiding behaviors that result in deprivation.

School administrations were credited with playing a pivotal role in maintaining discipline by enforcing regulatory and supervisory procedures, and by ensuring a calm and secure exam atmosphere.

The ministry further stated that this progress signals growing student awareness and boosts the educational community’s confidence in the current academic policies. It reaffirmed its commitment to enhancing cooperation with parents and educators and to providing a motivating educational environment grounded in academic values, positive competition, and commitment.

In conclusion, the Ministry of Education expressed optimism that this downward trend in deprivation cases marks an encouraging beginning for the remainder of the examination period. It emphasized that integration between awareness and oversight efforts is essential to ensuring discipline and fairness among all students.