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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2012
National Day preparations
KUWAIT: Major General Mustafa Al-Zaabi,
Assistant undersecretary of Interior Ministry
Traffic Affairs, underlined the importance of
‘civilized police conduct’ while interacting
with both citizens and expatriates during the
national celebrations.
He stressed the need to post traffic officials
on the condition of streets 24 hours a
day in order to help solve any congestion and
serve all people using the roads. Speaking at
a special meeting convened to review preparations
for the celebrations with top traffic
officials from all six governorates, Al-Zaabi
stressed the need to avoid power abuse and
urged all policemen to be nice to the public.
The photo shows an almost deserted Gulf
Road on Friday on the eve of the National
Day. —Photo by Joseph shagra
KUWAIT: The Ministry of Education (MoE)
must release to high school students new
midterm reports that take into account
marks and test results as per the old grading
system, says a recommendation
released recently by a technical committee
formed to probe reasons behind low
midterm results recorded this year.
Students blame a new system introduced
this year, which bases 90 percent of
a student’s Grade Point Average (GPA) on
their test results, for the low midterm
results recorded late last month.
Students insisted that midterms included
complex questions which exceeded the
level of understanding of an average student.
Meanwhile, chairman of the High School
Students Council, Rasheed Al-Hajri, said
senior chemistry teachers struggled to
answer questions included in the high
school chemistry midterm examinations.
He based his statement on the testimonies
of students, who claim teachers tried to
help them during the exams in empathy of
their frustration at the level of complexity
of the tests.
Al-Hajri reiterated plans to stage an
“unprecedented mass gathering” of high
school students at Iradah Square on
Tuesday, February 28 “to demand the
return of the old system”. It is not clear
whether these plans still stand after the latest
news about the anticipated ministry
decision.
Former minister, Ahmad Al-Mulaifi, had
LOCAL
Students firm on staging
mass protest on Feb 28
Midterms dilemma simmers on
Kuwaiti embassies
celebrate national days
KUWAIT: Kuwaiti embassies around the globe continued
to celebrate Kuwait’s 51st Independence Day and
the 21st Liberation Day, and the sixth Anniversary of His
Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-
Sabah’s assumption of leadership. Kuwait Embassy in
Qatar held late Thursday a ceremony in celebration of
national events which was attended by former GCC
Secretary General Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah, members of
the diplomatic circle, and a number of Kuwaiti and
Qatari citizens.
Kuwaiti Ambassador to Qatar Ali Al-Haifi congratulated
Kuwait’s leadership and people on the advent of
such joyous celebrations. He affirmed that Kuwaiti and
Qatari relations were of great importance, adding that
the Qatari full-hearted involvement in the celebrations
was a clear sign of the ties that bind the two nations. In
Morocco, Ambassador of Kuwait to Rabat Shamlan Al-
Roumi held celebrations commemorating the national
occasions. The celebrations were attended by Moroccan
state officials, diplomats, in addition to academics and
other personnel. — KUNA
KUWAIT: Moderate weather is expected
for the national holidays that lasts until
Monday with temperatures dropping
slightly during night, according to two
meteorologists yesterday.
“Calm weather is expected for the coming
few days with light northwestern winds
turning into southeastern winds after the
holidays”, said veteran meteorologist Dr
formed committees to gather students’
complaints, with the option of marking test
papers again. Nothing has materialized so
far to help students improve their grades.
New minister, Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf,
announced shortly after assuming office
that the old grading system, in which
midterm results make up 70 percent of a
student’s GPA, will be brought back until
the end of the current school year. No
measures have been taken since then.
Reports yesterday quoting sources with
knowledge of MoE thinking, said a technical
committee Al-Hajraf formed to resolve
the problem finished its report on
Wednesday. It recommends scrapping
midterm results and release new reports
with grades calculated as per the old system.
The recommendation needs to be
approved by the minister before it is officially
adopted.
The sources, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, indicated that the report will be
referred to Undersecretary, Tamadher Al-
Sadairawi, on Tuesday. Then it will be sent
to Minister Al-Hajraf to be adopted presumably
before the end of next week.
If the protest goes ahead, many public
schools will witness high absence rates as
students skip class to participate in the
demonstration.
This is not new to many schools around
Kuwait, which saw absences as high as 100
percent on Thursday, the final day before
the four-day national holiday. —Al-Qabas,
Al-Rai & Al-Jarida
Sheikh Lt General Khalid
Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah
New Army
Chief of Staff
KUWAIT: The Cabinet
approved the appointment
of Sheikh Lt General Khalid
Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah as
Kuwait’s new Army Chief of
Staff. The cabinet wished
him success.
Moderate weather on National days
Saleh Al-Ujairi, adding that the change in
the wind direction is expected to bring
cloudy weather with chances of occasional
rains.
Meteorologist Khalid Al-Jamaan indicated
that current moderate weather does not
signal the end of winter and spring is officially
set to start on March 20 as per meteorological
calculations. — Al-Watan