MANGALURU: The 16-year career of Laxman (name changed), originally from Tamil Nadu, working as a safety engineer in Kuwait came to an end as he failed to obtain a no-objection certificate from the Kuwaiti Society of Engineers (KSE), which is mandatory for an expatriate to work as an engineer in the country. The reason: its engineering school was not accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) in India.
Besides Laxman, many Indian engineers working in Kuwait have started losing their jobs in the Gulf country. In fact, they failed to produce an NBA certificate to KSE to renew their residence permit.
KSE and the Public Manpower Authority (PAM) of Kuwait have come up with a rule that NOCs are issued to expatriate engineers only if their college and courses are accredited by the NBA. Although NBA was implemented in India twenty years ago, few colleges/courses in India are NBA accredited as of today. All colleges are approved by AICTE.
Kuwait has nearly 12,000 registered Indian engineers, and some of them hold key positions. The largest number of engineers in Kuwait are Indian expatriates.
“I graduated in 1995 and NBA accreditation started in India after many years. In such a scenario how can I provide a course certificate approved by NBA? However, I have completed my Masters from an NBA accredited establishment, which is not mandatory. As I failed to obtain an NOC, which is mandatory, I lost my job in Kuwait and was unemployed for four month. However, I was lucky that my company signed a project in Saudi Arabia. I was asked to move there in late December,” Laxman explained about his ordeal.
Not all expatriate engineers in India are as lucky as Laxman. Another expatriate from Tamil Nadu, who arrived in Kuwait in 2018 and works as a security engineer, is counting his days in Kuwait. “I received NOCs between 2018 and 2021, but I was refused in 2022,” he explained.
Other expatriates who previously worked as engineers were demoted to lower positions because they did not provide NOCs.
The Indian Engineers Forum (IEF) and other engineering forums in Kuwait have discussed the issue with the Kuwaiti and Indian governments. “Of the 12,000 engineers registered at the Indian Embassy in Kuwait, it is learned that 1,200 have lost their jobs in the last two months,” said another member of the engineering forum.
Many more could lose jobs, says IEF, Kuwait
The Kuwait Indian Engineers Forum said that if KSE sticks to the updated rule, it would affect almost all engineers. All Kuwait Engineer Forums have contacted the Indian Government through the Embassy in Kuwait. The NBA began independent operations in 2012, according to the Indian government.
Besides Laxman, many Indian engineers working in Kuwait have started losing their jobs in the Gulf country. In fact, they failed to produce an NBA certificate to KSE to renew their residence permit.
KSE and the Public Manpower Authority (PAM) of Kuwait have come up with a rule that NOCs are issued to expatriate engineers only if their college and courses are accredited by the NBA. Although NBA was implemented in India twenty years ago, few colleges/courses in India are NBA accredited as of today. All colleges are approved by AICTE.
Kuwait has nearly 12,000 registered Indian engineers, and some of them hold key positions. The largest number of engineers in Kuwait are Indian expatriates.
“I graduated in 1995 and NBA accreditation started in India after many years. In such a scenario how can I provide a course certificate approved by NBA? However, I have completed my Masters from an NBA accredited establishment, which is not mandatory. As I failed to obtain an NOC, which is mandatory, I lost my job in Kuwait and was unemployed for four month. However, I was lucky that my company signed a project in Saudi Arabia. I was asked to move there in late December,” Laxman explained about his ordeal.
Not all expatriate engineers in India are as lucky as Laxman. Another expatriate from Tamil Nadu, who arrived in Kuwait in 2018 and works as a security engineer, is counting his days in Kuwait. “I received NOCs between 2018 and 2021, but I was refused in 2022,” he explained.
Other expatriates who previously worked as engineers were demoted to lower positions because they did not provide NOCs.
Develop
Many more could lose jobs, says IEF, Kuwait
The Kuwait Indian Engineers Forum said that if KSE sticks to the updated rule, it would affect almost all engineers. All Kuwait Engineer Forums have contacted the Indian Government through the Embassy in Kuwait. The NBA began independent operations in 2012, according to the Indian government.
