More than 7,000 non-Kuwaiti teachers are being let go under the opening round of a government plan to trim an oversized instructional workforce, with alerts already landing in the phones of those affected.
The Ministry of Education has confirmed that 7,019 educators of Arab and other nationalities are receiving termination notices, delivered through the state-run Sahel application under the heading “Contract Termination Notice,” local reports said. The messages inform recipients that their second contracts are being ended before expiry, citing the applicable contractual clause and the required notice window.
Of those in this initial group, 5,468 are women and 1,551 are men. Officials estimate the reductions will lower yearly salary outlays by roughly KD42 million.
The decision traces back to an internal audit of how many teachers the system employs versus how many it actually needs. That review flagged an excess of some 33,268 personnel spanning numerous subjects and grade levels. Rather than acting all at once, the ministry intends to draw down numbers in stages, aligning future staffing with each school’s genuine demands.
According to the ministry, everyone in the first wave comes from fields where headcounts already outstrip requirements. The identified overages touch Arabic, English, Islamic education, art, music, mathematics, science and physical education, along with certain secondary-level tracks, and they vary by grade stage and by whether a campus enrolls boys or girls.
Part of what is driving the overhaul is Kuwait’s broader push to place more qualified citizens into classrooms wherever the local labor pool can supply them, turning to foreign hiring only in specializations that still face shortfalls.
The ministry has said that teachers losing their posts will receive formal notice via Sahel under sanctioned administrative and legal steps, and that their entitlements as employees will be protected throughout the process.
