Decree Law No. 86 of 2026 replaced the table attached to the 2011 legislation governing allowances for Kuwaiti teaching members at the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, according to the document published in Kuwait Al Youm. The new law sets out updated job titles, the conditions for occupying those posts and the precise value of four separate payments tied to each rank. It also establishes a fresh recruitment pathway that requires aspiring Kuwaiti teachers to serve one full year as a trainee teacher prior to advancing into the established hierarchy.
The highest position of Specialized Teacher (A) carries a 600-dinar job-level reward along with a 400-dinar encouragement reward, a 200-dinar teaching allowance and a 200-dinar rare-specialization allowance, the decree’s table shows, for a combined sum of 1,400 dinars. Specialized Teacher (B) receives 500 dinars, 350 dinars, 175 dinars and 200 dinars under the same four categories, producing a total of 1,225 dinars. Lower ranks follow a descending scale of compensation that the decree applies uniformly to qualifying staff in both ministries while the trainee teacher position receives none of the four allowances.
The legislation updates a framework first enacted in 2011 and reflects ongoing adjustments to the compensation packages offered to national educators, Kuwait Al Youm reported. A separate mechanism introduced in the decree aims to professionalize entry into the field through the mandatory trainee year that allows assessment of candidates before permanent placement. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Islamic Affairs will implement the revised structure immediately following its official publication.
The decree was published one day before the Ministry of Education announced its readiness to receive 481,000 students for the 2026-2027 academic year. The ministry stated that 97 percent of textbooks have reached schools with 137 of 141 titles already distributed. Its preparations also confirmed sufficient staffing levels to maintain a stable learning environment across government and private Arabic schools.
The Ministry of Education has reported that Kuwaitis currently make up 70.6 percent of a teaching workforce that totals approximately 91,761 personnel. The ministry has initiated the first phase of a plan that will end the contracts of 7,019 expatriate teachers from Arab and other nationalities to address an identified surplus. That action is projected to reduce the annual salary bill by 42 million dinars according to ministry figures.
A ministry study placed the overall surplus at 33,268 teachers in specializations where staffing exceeds school needs, the ministry said. Future appointments will link more directly to actual requirements while expatriate hiring will occur only where qualified Kuwaiti candidates remain insufficient. Notifications to affected teachers will proceed through the Sahel application in line with established legal procedures that protect employment rights.
