HIS Excellency, the Minister of Education Jalal Al-Tabtabaei, you have done an excellent job in fulfilling your promise to hold accountable anyone who committed violations related to the school textbook printing tenders. A successful minister who embraces the principle of transparency is one who puts the interests of his country first and does not leave violators within his ministry unpunished, recognizing that they are a destructive force.
This importance is even greater when it comes to education, which is the foundation of a nation’s progress. Any corruption in the educational field, no matter how small, can turn into a devastating disaster for generations. Yes, Your Excellency, the Minister of Education, your selection of an impartial committee of such high caliber, including members from the Fatwa and Legislation Department and other bodies, reflects your commitment to ensuring that no loopholes compromise the investigation. The minister’s decision to form an impartia,l independent committee affirms his dedication to giving everyone their due.
The committee’s formation from outside the ministry, with the authority to investigate and hold accountable without special considerations, is a positive step toward uncovering the truth. Had the committee been formed from within the ministry, there might have been concerns that facts would be hidden to protect violators or justify misconduct, ultimately preventing the truth from emerging. Dear Minister of Education, you are aware that delays in delivering textbooks affect the academic year, hinder student performance, and impede their academic progress.
Nevertheless, you showed patience to ensure that the printing of textbooks was completed on time so that violators could be held accountable. Since there was a delay in printing and delivering textbooks to students, it became imperative to hold those responsible accountable. Due to the imposition of prohibitive conditions on printing presses, the tender was awarded to parties unqualified to handle such a large volume of books, which is exactly what I had warned against from the start.
Kuwait has four large printing presses that have traditionally handled textbook printing and delivery on time, sometimes even ahead of schedule. However, obstacles were deliberately placed in their way, with plans to exclude them maliciously from textbook tenders, even after 40 years of service.
It is puzzling that a printing press with four decades of experience was disqualified over such trivial reasons, such as one printing press owed a fine of just KD 1, another KD 3.75 and the winning bidder’s assets were even mortgaged. Your Excellency, the Minister of Education, I will not go into too many details, which you are already well aware of, nor will I repeat what has been published in newspapers, including Al- Seyassah and Arab Times.
However, it is inconceivable that a small printing press could win the bid to print 46 of the 115 textbooks and secure KD 4 million out of the KD 10 million allocated for textbook printing, given its inability to produce such a large volume, despite submitting a higher bid than the others. Furthermore, the reasons given for rejecting the larger, experienced printing presses, even after the tenders were settled, do not comply with the relevant law.
For example, companies awarded major projects, such as the construction of the new Kuwait Airport, often have financial claims, labor obligations, taxes, and other responsibilities. Why, then, were they not rejected or excluded? The answer is clear. Only companies subject to a liquidation ruling are barred from bidding.
Yes, there were flaws, and you put an end to them. Your recent decision in this matter reinforces the balance of justice, especially since it concerns the interests of an entire generation of learners. You, Minister of Education, are well aware of the seriousness of the delay in delivering textbooks to students beyond the specified deadline. I reiterate my sincere thanks to Your Excellency the Minister of Education for this decisive step and for the transparency with which you handled this extremely important issue. You, Minister of Education, have exposed corruption related to tenders. I hope that other ministries will follow your example, and that all those proven to be involved in corruption will be referred to the Public Prosecution.
