Creating One person Spain beat beautiful commits France to artworks suicide every go 4-0 at from paper4 40 seconds35 World43 Cup Max 48º Min 28º FREE www.kuwaittimes.net NO: 16276- Friday, September 5, 2014 MUMBAI: Indians take snap- shots outside the Taj Mahal hotel yesterday. The hotel was one of the targets of the 2008 terror attacks by a small group of Pakistani militants. At least three Indian states with large Muslim populations have been put on alert in the wake of a video release where the leader of Al- Qaeda says the terrorist group has expanded into India. — AP India on alert; Qaeda expands Page 17 Local FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2014 Scribbler’s Notebook Local Spotlight The value Greed of private schools of merit By Muna Al-Fuzai By Jamie Etheridge [email protected] don’t have a better name to call this sudden and unjus- price of school uniforms as well. Some parents also said [email protected] tified increase in fees and requests of private schools that schools collect the full school fees at once and Ihere in Kuwait, but total greediness. Personally, I don’t upfront. believe in the efficacy of education in Kuwait, public or Maybe these schools think they are offering better edu- professor at university once told me that the private. The only difference between the two is that with cation materials and educational environment, so they greatest problem facing the Middle East the latter, you pay more money for no good or obvious need more money. But if the MoE sees this as breaking Awasn’t lack of democracy, corruption, poor reason. official orders and rules, they should start investigations education, red tape or even poverty. It was and Private schools are not only for expats, as more and check these complaints with or without official remains an abiding disregard for merit. Merit, he Kuwaitis are sending their kids to private schools as well requests by any parent. explained, or rather the widespread lack thereof is a because they see education in government schools as a The MoE has said concerned parents must submit an root cause of the region’s many ills. How can a waste of their children’s time and future. So they assume official plea in order for them to check the matter. Really?! country that places family connections above com- that sending their kids to private schools will ensure a bet- Because if I were a school owner and one or two parents petence hope to develop? How can you improve ter education. That is the general perception, but it filled a complaint against me, I would simply ask them to societal structures like health care, education, agri- doesn’t come free. They have to pay for this dream - take their kids out of my school. Parents fear revenge - it is cultural or any other system and encourage people sometimes a very large amount of money. normal here. Parents will be forced to pay the increased to work their hardest, to be efficient and honest I agree that public schools are either using old-fash- fees even if they don’t approve of it, because they have no when their hard work is neither recognized nor ioned methods of teaching and/or outdated curricula that other choice. rewarded? are completely irrelevant to life, needs and views. Some I wonder why we don’t have strong parent committees Young and naive, I disagreed with him. As an religious material scares me, and most of the time I don’t or groups for support or to reject any malpractices by the undergraduate who had barely traveled to the see the wisdom of having it. management and school owners of private schools. Schools have reopened and parents have complained Having such people would help to build their case. region and instead spent years reading books about a hike in school fees of some major private schools, about the history, culture, society and language, I which violated regulations of the Ministry of Education by was (and remain) enthralled with the Arab world increasing fees. Some parents also complained about the and could not accept his assessment. Years later, I’m sad to say that my professor (who is an Arab, by the way) understood more than I realized. I’ve come to see that a fundamental disregard for merit - along with stereotypes and shallow generaliza- Kaffeeklatsch tions - often influence decisions. Take for instance, nationality. It is often the first question an employer considers when hiring - not a potential employee’s Ripped off on the road experience or education or capabilities. There are some good reasons for this but there are also plen- ty of mistaken ideas that contribute to a bloated bureaucracy and an economy rife with inefficien- By Shakir Reshamwala cies and incompetence. Reading through the World Economic Forum’s Global Competiveness Report on Kuwait for 2014- 2015 this week, I felt almost sick about Kuwait’s [email protected] poor rankings. In indicator after indicator, Kuwait fell embarrassingly behind its regional contempo- raries. I find it impossible to reconcile the WEF’s ravelling is a national pastime for both Kuwaitis and time I shell out $5 (KD 1.4) and more for a falafel sandwich findings with all the people whom I’ve met here. expats. This is evident in the searing summer from specialty Arabic/Mediterranean/vegetarian restau- There are so many bright, talented locals and expa- Tmonths, when streets empty of traffic and residential rants, flogged as exotic fare. Even the tip is more than the triates who work hard, who are smart and innova- areas go eerily silent. A long weekend or Eid break typically price of a few sandwiches in Kuwait! tive, who are dedicated and who have ambition to sees a mass exodus of people from Kuwait heading all While food cannot be lugged across borders, stuff like around the world. chargers and plug adapters can, since electric sockets dif- succeed and contribute positively to the develop- The strong Kuwaiti dinar makes the sticker shock of fer around the world. My eyes watered as I paid $10 (KD ment of Kuwait. travel easier to bear, especially to developed countries 2.8) plus tax for a simple 2-pin plug adapter. Later in a dif- And yet, trying to do so is often a Herculean with a high cost of living. But some things abroad are way ferent city, I found the same adapter - woohoo - for $4 (KD task. Systems that have been in place for decades too expensive to swallow, making one cringe every time 1.1), only to come back to Kuwait and see piles of the darn and that do not recognize nor reward merit con- money changes hands. This is not to say that Kuwait is a thingies for only 150 fils (50 cents) in hardware stores. tinue to prevail and the people who maintain and cheap place to live in and travel to - it’s not. Rents are sky- Services too are cheaper in Kuwait, everything from run those systems either reject change or find no high, public transport is patchy (forcing one to own a car, domestic help to porters to tipping. I can get a decent hair- benefit in it. There are a few large corporations in with its own myriad costs) and school fees and other cut for 500 fils ($1.75) in plenty of salons across Kuwait. Kuwait where merit is recognized and rewarded expenses are constantly rising. Compare this to a $15 (KD 4.25) scalping at an average and there’s no need to name them as we all know At the other end of the spectrum, some things are salon during my travels, plus a $5 (KD 1.4) tip, which alone which ones they are as they easily stand out. ridiculously cheap here. Most of these are of course subsi- could’ve got me three haircuts in Kuwait. Kuwait is not my country and never will be. But dized by the state, and should not and cannot be com- Of course, destinations in developing countries are still I want to see it succeed. Still I want to see it pared to full-price equivalents abroad, but nevertheless cheaper and more value for money. But when it comes to develop and all the Kuwaitis I know feel the same. are sorely missed on the road. one thing, most countries east or west do not even come They want to be proud of their home and work to Take bread for instance. A packet of pita bread costs a close to Kuwait - petrol. At 60 fils (20 cents) a litre, along help it prosper. To that end, this one thing must mere 50 fils (18 cents) in Kuwait, while I have paid nearly with dirt-cheap power and water, this lifeblood of Kuwait change. The valuing of merit is critical to the long $2.6 (750 fils) for a similar packet abroad. (All comparative is what’s driving our insatiable consumption and feeding term development and future of any country, to prices are in US dollars irrespective of location, for the sake our travel bugs. Getting fleeced abroad somehow levels its economy and its people. Here’s hoping that of uniformity.) The humble falafel sandwich is only 100 fils everything out. Kuwait turns to fostering a culture of merit for its (36 cents) in Kuwait and available in every corner of the future’s sake. country. So you can imagine the nosebleed I get every Local FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2014 Conspiracy Theories Franchising jihad the cities.