At the start of each day, thousands of teachers head to school, and like most Kuwaitis, they move from their government-provided homes to their government jobs. On the morning of October 7, the Ministry of Education issued a decision to relocate more than 8,700 teachers from their usual workplaces to other school sites to balance workloads and bridge deficits in some disciplines. This decision has sparked a wave of protests from teachers and citizens. However, this decision and its consequences reflect a deeper imbalance in Kuwait’s urban development.

Watching the exchange between the protesters and the ministry, we wonder how teachers ended up at a certain school, since most of them did not choose their schools. Most Kuwaitis did not choose their place of residence. The central government employment system distributes jobs according to annual vacancies, and the welfare housing system determines, in some way, housing locations through the available chance and lottery, after years of waiting, which ultimately results in obtaining housing on the outskirts of the urban area in Mutla’a, Khairan, or Sabah al-Ahmad City.

Opportunity determines where the individual lives and where he works; between the two, this forced commuter coexists, and the teacher loses hours every day on the road, while the state bears the high costs of maintaining or expanding these major roads.

In flexible markets, however, people move closer to their workplaces or look for work closer to home. But in Kuwait, this natural mechanism is broken. Housing is unaffordable, government jobs are rigid, and transfer requests are rarely accepted.

The ministry’s decisions may be technically sound, but reform measures must consult stakeholders and allow space for discussion and consideration. Otherwise, they will lead to confusion and injustice; Especially at a time like this, when Professional and civil society bodies, including the Kuwait Teachers’ Society, have been dissolved.

Places and geographies are not marginal; they express the meanings of justice,  shape productivity and well-being of individuals and families. Bringing homes and jobs closer together is a social, economic and environmental imperative. Housing policies in Kuwait must go beyond simply distributing plots and homes.

Public sector employment must account for where people live, and residential suburbs should be designed around public transport, with schools, shops, and workplaces within walking distance. Once this is achieved, roads become vital and enable teachers to reach their schools with the energy their students need.