​Major regulatory overhaul in Kuwait: Ministry of Social Affairs enforces 3-month deadline for expat and citizen degree audits with mandatory qualification exams.

​Kuwait's Ministry of Social Affairs announced the enforcement of strict regulatory and supervisory measures across all cooperative societies, launching a comprehensive audit campaign targeting the educational qualifications of both national citizens and expatriate employees in line with Cabinet directives.

The Assistant Undersecretary for Financial, Administrative, and Cooperative Affairs, Dr. Sayed Issa, confirmed that the ministry officially instructed the Union of Consumer Cooperative Societies to mandate all board of directors to verify their staff's academic certificates through the Ministry of Higher Education within a strict 3-month timeframe.

The initial phase of the academic audit will specifically target university degree holders, followed immediately by a second phase focusing on non-university qualifications, particularly diploma certificates held by personnel in various cooperative support roles.

Following the standardization of organizational structures, job descriptions, and salary scales, the ministry will introduce automated assessment exams for all cooperative employees to measure competency and determine suitability for retaining their positions, mirrored after current supervisory role examinations.

The ministry emphasized that employees who fail to pass these mandatory automated evaluations will be systematically removed from their positions due to lack of eligibility, ensuring that only qualified personnel with appropriate expertise manage cooperative operations.