KUWAIT CITY, May 19: The parliamentary Education Committee on Thursday deliberated on the report of its Budgets and Final Accounts counterpart about the extra work hours bonus for the teaching staff at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET). Committee Rapporteur MP Hamoud Al-Hamdan praised the PAAET administration for rectifying the administrative errors, noting that such a positive move makes the authority a role model for other institutions, so it deserves commendation for this excellent measure which bodes well on the academe.

He hopes other educational institutions will follow the example of the PAAET administration in addressing irregularities uncovered by the State Audit Bureau. Earlier, some members of the Education Committee confirmed that PAAET is riddled with violations and irregularities, such as favoritism in appointments, which necessitate the implementation of a clear accountability mechanism. Budgets and Final Accounts Committee Chairman MP Adnan Abdul- Samad considers the extra work hours bonus for PAAET teachers a form of financial corruption.

In another development, MP Mohammad Tana Al-Anazi has asked the government to clarify a report published by Al-Rai daily quoting a Washington Post article about the government of Kuwait’s alleged plan to pay its counterpart in Comoros for accepting Bedouns. He wonders if this is a wise for Kuwait — a humanitarian country — to ‘trade in’ human beings considering the act contravenes the law and human rights regulations.