Kuwait Allows School Principals To Approve Exit Permits For Expat Teachers

Gulf Insider

12 hours ago

Kuwait's Ministry of Education has granted school principals the authority to approve exit permits for expatriate teachers and staff, eliminating the need for regional office involvement and ending a months-long administrative bottleneck that had disrupted travel plans for tens of thousands.
Announced in coordination with the Civil Service Commission, the policy empowers school administrations to issue exit approvals directly via the government's Integrated System, part of an ongoing digital transformation effort.
The change comes as the Ministry works to modernise internal operations and better serve a workforce that includes over 30,000 expatriate educators.
'The shift is aimed at reducing delays, simplifying procedures, and promoting administrative discipline,' said Acting Assistant Undersecretary for General Education Mansour Al Dhafiri in a directive to all education districts.
He instructed officials to cease referring requests to central offices, in what is seen as a key step in empowering schools with greater administrative autonomy.
Previously, expatriate educators were required to navigate a multi-layered process involving district visits and paper submissions.
But the rollout of the 'Sahel' app, designed to facilitate electronic services, exposed technical issues in syncing teacher data with Civil Service Bureau systems, leading to mass confusion and widespread complaints.
The Ministry responded with an urgent intervention led by Education Minister Dr. Adel Al Tabtabaei, who coordinated with the Civil Service Bureau to update records and restore functionality. Since then, hundreds of teachers have successfully processed their travel requests online, with the new procedure reducing foot traffic in administrative offices.
Under the revised mechanism:
· Teachers obtain Form No. 1 from supervisors.
· Requests are submitted through the 'Sahel' app.
· Principals approve applications directly via the integrated government portal.
The reform is designed to reduce red tape, foster administrative discipline, and support more effective governance of the country's education sector.
The Ministry has called on all schools to adhere to the updated procedures and confirmed that further enhancements to the digital system are under consideration.