Market Intelligence
Education Kuwait

Kuwait e-Learning

Kuwait is focused on improving the educational system by investing in the educational experience such as e-learning programs and online learning platforms. Thus far, the government has spent $1.14 billion on facilities including $882 million to rebuild old schools and build new facilities. The budget allocated for the fiscal year 2019/2020 is valued at approximately $7 billion. Once finalized, the current fiscal year’s budget (2020/2021) is expected to implement a 20% decrease in spending due to the substantial decline oil prices and targeted spending to address the immediate financial needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In total, there are approximately 1,300 public and private elementary and secondary schools in Kuwait. Of the 30 international schools, eight are American and the remainder follow Canadian, British, French, or Indian curricula, with English-language programs.

Kuwait University is the sole public university in Kuwait. The other universities are private: the American University of Kuwait, American University of the Middle East, The Arab Open University, Australian College of Kuwait, Kuwait International Law School, Kuwait Maastricht Business School, Algonquin College, Kuwait Technical College, Box Hill College, American International College, and Gulf University of Science and Technology.

Kuwait faced serious challenges in continuing with the academic year throughout the COVID-19 crisis. In the public sector, more than 500,000 students from Grade 1 to Grade 12 were forced to stay home without education. Among them, 30,000 students are in Grade 12 representing 30% of the local population. The country’s initial policy prohibited online learning. Therefore, there was a lack of sufficient funds for schools to adjust to implement e-learning platforms and to train teachers on new technology to deliver classes in a virtual setting.

Despite initial resistance, Kuwait came to realize the importance of spending on building a platform to deliver classes online. In April 2020, the KFAS Academy — on behalf of KFAS (Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences) and as part of KFAS Emergency Resilience Education Program — solicited proposals from in-country providers for e-Learning platforms directed towards K-12 pupils (also known as LMS – Learning Management Systems).

The objective is to “enable the continuation of learning and education of public throughout the crisis by supporting a national forum for online education.” The selected platform would be used for KFAS immediate Emergency Resilience Education Initiatives until September 2020 and could be considered within the National e-Learning Platform that the KFAS Academy is evaluating proposing to schools operating in Kuwait.

The Ministry of Education selected three local companies to create and develop an e-learning platform for the public schools, which went operational on August 9, 2020. Based on users’ feedback, the system is not efficient and experienced several technical issues.

The Ministry of Education is looking for an e-learning portal that can offer the following:

  • Virtual education
  • Attendance confirmation
  • Homework functionality
  • Connection with the parents
  • Participation and interaction between students and teachers
  • 24 hour customer support service

The implemented portal will need the capability to address several categories of users:

  • Teachers
  • Parents
  • Students
  • School management
  • Counselors

Next Step for U.S companies:

U.S companies offering e-learning solutions have market potential in Kuwait since both public and private educational institutions are looking for implementing or enhancing the online platforms.

Compared to its regional neighbors, Kuwait is a challenging market that requires patience to develop and tireless effort to be successful in country. CS Kuwait advises U.S companies to choose a strong distributor/agent who is already active in the education sector and has solid relationships with stakeholders, mainly the Ministry of Education.

In particular to any e-learning solutions, U.S providers should insure that:

1- The software is easy to use.

2- The software is multilanguage in both ARABIC and ENGLISH.

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Rasha.al-muhtaseb@trade.gov.