“Frightening” figures about the number of illiterates in Iraq

[size=52]“Frightening” figures about the number of illiterates in Iraq[/size]

[size=45]In a shocking and catastrophic number, as described by educational experts, revealing the horror of the crisis afflicting the Iraqi education sector, the United Nations indicated that there are 12 million illiterate people in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]A member of the Iraqi Teachers Syndicate, Nasser Al-Kaabi, said, "The United Nations informed us that there are 12 million illiterate people in Iraq."[/size]
[size=45]He added, "There are no financial allocations for the executive body to eradicate illiteracy," noting that "Iraq is heading towards illiteracy, not illiteracy."[/size]
[size=45]While the Undersecretary of the Iraqi Ministry of Education and head of the Executive Authority for Literacy, Alaa Al-Halbousi, confirmed that there are no accurate figures on the number of illiterates, adding: "We rely on the statistics issued by the Central Statistical Organization of the Ministry of Planning."[/size]
[size=45]In order to take note of the introductions and results of this crisis, which threatens to ignore generations of Iraqis and impede their cognitive and productive development, and its discouraging repercussions on development and stability in the country, Abbas Kazem Al-Sudani, head of the Iraqi Teachers Syndicate, says: “The illiteracy rate in Iraq rises dramatically annually, due to the failure to address this negative phenomenon and the accumulation of Its repercussions, for Iraq, which left illiteracy in 1979, is now retreating and returning to it with force, as the number of illiterates now exceeds, at least, 8 million illiterate, and this is an alarming and sad number.”[/size]
[size=45]The head of the Iraqi Teachers Syndicate adds: “There are a number of reasons behind the spread of illiteracy in this frightening way, the most important of which is the country’s instability and turbulence in its political, security and economic conditions, the widening of class differences between the groups and segments of Iraqi society, and the failure to activate the law of compulsory education in force so far, and thus the failure to curb the bleeding Dropping out of Iraqi schools.[/size]
[size=45]This is how this dangerous societal crisis erupts, as Al-Sudani sees it, continuing: “Despite the existence of the Supreme National Commission for Literacy, it did not exercise its actual and desired role, due to the failure to allocate the funds and budgets necessary to advance and finance the literacy project, in addition to the fact that population growth in Iraq is very high. This causes continuous pressure on the basically dilapidated educational infrastructure, as there are large numbers of students and schools that cannot accommodate them, but rather their percentage increases annually.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sudani added: “Unfortunately, the dangerous phenomenon of illiteracy has spread, and its disastrous repercussions will affect various aspects of life and production in Iraq, and will have a catastrophic impact on its security and stability. That is why I called, as Parliament Speaker, to allocate sessions and issue legislation to address the widespread problem of illiteracy.”[/size]
[size=45]We are talking about a large part of Iraqi society that has fallen victim to illiteracy. The head of the Teachers Syndicate continues, adding: “Neglecting this broad segment of society and not addressing the deadly disease of illiteracy contributes to its exacerbation and its further spread, and the difficulty of correcting it and surrounding it later.”[/size]
[size=45]The Iraqi Ministry of Planning had announced at the beginning of the year 2020, that the illiteracy rate in Iraq among the population over the age of 10 years, according to the latest survey carried out by the Central Bureau of Statistics, amounted to 13 percent.[/size]
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