The Ministry of Education's (MoE) Deputy Assistant for Private Education has called on all Kuwait's private schools to commit to delaying their reopening until the same date agreed on by the country's public schools, especially in the case of kindergartens and schools for the disabled.

The move follows the announcement that five new swine flu cases were discovered during high school pupils' resits of the June exams which they failed previously. Those affected were four pupils and one teacher, and the Ministry of Health (MoH) was immediately informed of the matter, while the infected individuals were taken for treatment.

The ministers of health and education, Dr. Helal Al-Sayer and Dr. Moudhi Al-Humoud respectively, are to hold a joint press conference shortly, at which they will discuss the issue of delaying the start of the school year, as well as the health ministry's recent decision to raise state hospital nurses' allowances.

Dr. Al-Humoud said that the decision to delay the reopening of state schools was taken in order to give the schools time to make all the necessary preparations and to equip them fully against the threat of infection with the swine flu virus. MPs' reactions to the issue were mostly welcoming, although some called for extending the directive ordering the delay to private schools too and for extending the postponement period until after the vaccines arrive and have been administered to all teachers and pupils
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Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's interior ministry has announced new criteria for those wishing to perform the Hajj pilgrimage this year, including the necessity for each would-be pilgrim to provide a medical certificate of vaccination against swine flu. The Saudi interior ministry also insisted that more stringent preventive programs should be adopted in the countries which pilgrims are traveling from, reported Al-Rai.

On the subject of the Mishref sewage plant, meanwhile, Roudhan Al-Roudhan, the State Minister of Cabinet Affairs, said that His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah had underlined the importance of the committee tasked with investigating the issue completing its mission within three weeks and submitting its report by October 1, stating that the report should include an explanation of the failings at the plant that led to the crisis, as well as naming those responsible. HH Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed has also emphasized the importance of punishing those found to be accountable and prosecuting them in accordance with Kuwaiti law.

Kuwaittimes