KUWAIT: Education Minister Jalal Al-Tabtabaei extended a ministerial decision suspending tuition fee increases at private schools in the country for the 2025/2026 academic year. The education ministry said the move reflects its commitment to regulating school fees and easing the financial burden on parents. The minister also delegated authority to the assistant undersecretary for educational affairs to impose penalties on schools found in violation of the regulations.
The decision issued Tuesday extends the original order released in 2018, which stipulates that private schools are not allowed to increase their annual school fees in order to provide a fair chance for all students to access balanced education. The decision added that a 2020 decision on tuition fees for schools serving students with disabilities will remain in force for the 2025/2026 academic year.
Separately, the ministry of finance announced Tuesday the official launch of its new electronic correspondence platform “Trasul+”, marking the ministry’s third digital system since 2006. Developed in collaboration with Microsoft, the platform has been rolled out to all ministry employees and organizational units.
The ministry said the launch follows the cooperation agreement signed by Finance Undersecretary Aseel Al-Munifi with Microsoft in Seattle in Dec 2024, making Trasul+ the first project implemented under the deal.
According to the statement, the system is built on Microsoft Azure’s cloud infrastructure, ensuring high levels of security and operational flexibility without relying on local servers. It integrates artificial intelligence to enhance user experience through features such as smart autoreplies, correspondence reading, voice dictation and spelling and grammar correction.
The platform also offers full integration with Microsoft 365 tools, including Teams, Outlook and Office 365, with documents and drafts stored in OneDrive to reduce storage and maintenance costs. It further connects with the government’s G2G platform and other state systems via APIs, boosting operational efficiency and cutting administrative duplication.
AI-powered features also enable advanced correspondence analysis and response preparation in line with the Cabinet’s vision for incorporating artificial intelligence into public services. The system supports sending, signing and archiving internal memos, administrative decisions and official documents, with quick access via a fully integrated workflow supported by generative AI.
The ministry emphasized that Trasul+ represents a model for government digital transformation, praising its technical partnership with Microsoft for providing world-class cloud infrastructure and technical support. The transition from the old correspondence system was completed smoothly, the statement added. The previous platform was decommissioned on May 29, 2025, and the new system went live on June 1 for all 3,972 ministry employees.
In less than three months of operation, Trasul+ processed 1,609 decisions, 8,033 outgoing letters, 12,926 incoming letters, 17,934 memos, 241,946 actions and 41,197 drafts. The ministry said these figures highlight the system’s effectiveness in managing and documenting official communications while accelerating procedures and enhancing transparency.
The launch was carried out in phases, with specialized staff trained across ministry sectors and direct technical support provided at work sites to ensure a smooth transition. A dedicated field support team from the IT Center was also deployed during the rollout. The ministry praised the efforts of its national IT staff, who supervised the implementation, training, and technical support, with full backing from senior leadership. – Agencies
