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Uncertain Future For Students Who Lost Files In Ministry Fire

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  • Uncertain Future For Students Who Lost Files In Ministry Fire

    UNCERTAIN FUTURE FOR STUDENTS WHO LOST FILES IN MINISTRY FIRE
    Nawara Fattahova

    Kuwait Times
    October 01, 2009

    KUWAIT: A fire recently struck the storage room of the Ministry
    of Education's building in Salmiya which houses school files and
    certificates belonging to students who attend private schools in
    Kuwait. The fire caused the loss of many files and certificates
    belonging to students from several private Arabic and foreign
    schools. The lost files were not backed up on any computer system
    and there is no other record of them, officials said.

    Fortunately, not all files in the store room were lost. Some were
    saved, but sources familiar with the situation said the files have
    not been organized yet. According to an employee from the department,
    the files affected include those from 1996 to the present. Older
    files and certificates are held elsewhere by the Ministry of Education.

    Some students who planned to transfer to different schools or who
    needed their paperwork for other tasks are facing many problems after
    this event occurred. Some were confused about what to do, and the
    staff from the department was unable to help them and simply advised
    them to request other copies of their certificates from the schools
    they studied at.

    When this reporter visited the Private Education Department, it was
    hard to find an answer about the exact number of files that were lost.

    The visit unveiled other problems, including a shortage that the
    employees are facing. "There is a need for the organization of this
    work. The mess is everywhere. We don't work in decent offices and
    five of us are working on two tables. There are no telephones or
    computers. We have to clean, paint and equip the room on our own
    expenses," said Um Ali, one of the employees at Students Affairs in
    the Private Education Department told the Kuwait Times yesterday.

    The employees at this department suffer from other shortages. "We don't
    have a parking lot and we are parking our vehicles on the street. Many
    times, or cars g hit by other drivers. Also, there is no security
    guards to protect us from the mad visitors and patrons. Many times,
    we face unpleasant situations when we are attacked verbally and once
    even physically. Our director didn't do anything to help us," said
    her colleague, Istiqlal.

    While this reporter was interviewing the employees, their supervisor
    came in and informed them that the director agreed that they could move
    to the other, larger room on one condition, which is to work on Friday
    and Saturday. The staff were disappointed at hearing this news and told
    their supervisor that their husbands would not agree to the conditions.

    You see, many times we are forced to come to work on the weekends,
    and only sometimes we are compensated. It is not fair, but what can
    we do. We complained many times, but nobody listens," added Um Ali.

    Some parents who come demanding the burnt files were told that the
    ministry will be looking to find a solution soon. Those who lost
    their files in the fire and didn't find them at their schools will
    have an uncertain resolution to their problems.

    In Kuwait, there are about 650 public schools, including boys and
    girls schools for all stages. Also included are 80 foreign schools
    including English, French, American, Indian, Filipino, Iranian,
    Pakistani, Armenian and other schools. There are 72 private Arabic
    schools in addition to eight schools for the disabled. These schools
    are spread across the country's six governorates.

    The Private Education Department is responsible for the affairs of all
    these schools, which also includes keeping copies of their student's
    files. Also many different rules apply on them that are different
    from the public schools.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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