There are four main levels of education in Kuwait. There are two years of kindergarten education, which is followed by five years of primary schooling, then 4 years of intermediate schooling and finally 3 years of secondary schooling. Both primary and intermediate education is compulsory, and this covers the ages of 6-14. Public education is free in Kuwait, and the standards are very high. There are two ministries which oversee education standards in the country – the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education. Literacy rates are high and are improving each year.

There are a number of private schools in the country for which fees will be charged and if you prefer a private education for your children there may be a waiting list, so it is better to look into the options as far in advance as possible. Around one third of children in Kuwait study at a private school and half of private schools teach through the medium of Arabic. The others are foreign language schools, usually run by the Americans or the British. It depends who runs the school as to which curriculum is used. If you are from the UK, for example, it is possible for your children to attend a school which offers the same curriculum as schools in Britain and children study for the same examinations.

The numbers of trained teachers has risen dramatically in the last few years and those attending foreign-run private schools will find that they are being taught by teachers from their home country, as many teachers move abroad to work, attracted by the higher salaries and lower cost of living. Public school teachers are mainly Kuwaiti nationals, although no one is allowed to teach unless they are properly qualified.

Subjects which are compulsory include Arabic, mathematics, sciences and English. Some schools which are run by religious organisations will have religion as a compulsory subject, although most children will receive some religious education at some point. There are also programmes to encourage the teaching and use of ICT in schools.

Children with special needs are also catered for in Kuwait. Some mainstream schools have special needs sections and there are also dedicated schools for special needs children, about a quarter of these are private.

Every area of Kuwait has an adequate number of schools and it is very rare that class numbers are high. Most classes average around 22 students, ensuring that it is easy to give each child the attention it needs.