Education in Iraq: Between the lack of schools and the delay in providing supplies

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[size=52]Education in Iraq: Between the lack of schools and the delay in providing supplies[/size]

[size=45]Education in Iraq suffers in every new academic year from the lack of real preparation that would enable it to succeed in this important file, from the small number of students, to the triple shift, the delay in preparing books, the shortage of school furniture, most notably student desks, the absence of potable water and sanitary toilets, and the lack of means of cooling and heating in the classrooms, the only victims of which are the students, which makes the country head towards a dark future.[/size]
[size=45]The spokesman for the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, Haider Majeed, confirmed earlier that the number of schools completed so far amounts to 331 schools in Baghdad and the governorates, with capacities ranging between 12, 18 and 24 classrooms.[/size]
[size=45]Majeed expected that “the number of completed schools will reach about 450 schools by the end of June out of a thousand,” noting that “the vision and plan of the Secretariat includes the delivery of a thousand schools by the end of next November.”[/size]
[size=45]He added that "the receiving process will be carried out according to the technical specifications set by the General Secretariat," noting that "the first school from this side was opened in Dhi Qar."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that “a committee was formed headed by the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Construction and Housing, the governorate education directorates, and a representative of the implementing Chinese company for the purpose of receiving the completed schools.”[/size]
[size=45]Only 10%,
and in reports it was revealed that “Iraq, which needs about twelve thousand schools in the coming few years to meet the local need for the education sector, has contracted with two Chinese companies to build eight thousand schools, including a first phase during which one thousand schools will be delivered.”[/size]
[size=45]Reports indicated that the multiplicity of entities implementing the project after it was divided and implemented by local brokers and investors instead of the Chinese companies themselves, led to a “deterioration” in construction standards in addition to a “significant increase” in the cost compared to the actual cost of construction if it were implemented by one entity and officially.[/size]
[size=45]For its part, the Education Committee in the House of Representatives requested details of the Chinese contract and a statement of the percentages of achievement achieved on the ground during its hosting of a delegation from the Higher Committee for School Construction.[/size]
[size=45]The committee stressed the need to provide it with detailed tables on the number of locations of these schools in each governorate and their types in terms of grades, start date of work, delivery date, and the cost of the construction process in addition to the actual completion rates and comparing it with the actual expenditure from the allocation of building these schools, as the committee revealed the completion rates of the model schools within the Chinese agreement, indicating that they do not exceed 10%.[/size]
[size=45]Earlier, the roof of a school under construction in Samawah Governorate, southern Iraq, collapsed as part of the Chinese agreement. The General Secretariat of the Iraqi Council of Ministers announced that the company constructing the building would be banned from working on other school buildings, and sent a technical delegation to investigate the reasons behind the collapse of parts of the school under construction. This is an official procedure, as matters are often formal, while what is worrying is that specialists considered that the collapse of parts of the school indicates the poor quality of the materials used, and they also attributed the matter to the traditional construction factor.[/size]
[size=45]Triple shift
With the start of the new school year approaching in Iraq, most students’ parents and teaching staff are monitoring the government’s achievements in education in Iraq, especially the construction of schools, as it will save them from many problems, the most important of which is the problem of the “triple shift” that has not been resolved for years throughout the country.[/size]
[size=45]The phenomenon of triple shifts is spreading as an obstacle to the success of the education file in the country, as one school accommodates three types of shifts (morning, afternoon, evening) in one day, which means reducing the hours of the period from its normal time to make better use of time.[/size]
[size=45]The morning shift usually starts in such schools from 8 am to 11 am, then the afternoon shift starts and extends until 3 pm, then the evening shift which ends at 6 pm, in addition to the presence of schools that witness a double shift for two administrations and double the number of students.[/size]
[size=45]Earlier, the Minister of Education, Ibrahim Namis Al-Jubouri, set the end of 2025 as the date for solving the problem of school buildings, while pointing out the ministry’s need for schools to adopt a single shift in all governorates.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Jubouri said during a televised program that “there is great cooperation and support from the Prime Minister for the Ministry of Education to overcome many obstacles,” noting that “the Ministry of Education needs the ability of the state to solve the problems it suffers from.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, "There is a complete combination of government efforts towards the Ministry of Education, especially with regard to infrastructure," stressing that "the abundance of curricula is the most important obstacle facing the ministry."[/size]
[size=45]He continued, "We have put the curricula back on the right track, as the scientific curricula are linked to international standards and classifications," noting that "a working mechanism has been put in place to train teachers and instructors."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "one of the problems facing the Ministry of Education is the infrastructure," noting that "most of the schools that were completed in 2023 were equipped with modern educational tools."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "the ministry needs 10,000 schools to make single shifts regular in all governorates."
However, according to observers, the situation remains the same with regard to multiple shifts in one school, and the increase in the number of students in each new academic year has increased the size of the problem.[/size]
[size=45]Studying without books
Printing school curricula in Iraq is a controversial issue, and with the beginning of each school year, the crisis of the shortage of school books returns to the forefront, for many reasons, most notably the many amendments to the curricula, the lack of financial allocations, and the political disputes witnessed by the country.[/size]
[size=45]Every year, the school year begins with the same suffering, as most Iraqi schools suffer from a shortage of curricula for all levels, as thousands of students receive their lessons without receiving school books, which forces their families to buy books from local markets at exorbitant prices. This delay is accompanied by a decline in the academic level in many important subjects, which makes students suffer from passing several chapters that must be read in their educational journey.[/size]
[size=45]The Parliamentary Education Committee, in turn, hosted the Book Printing Committee of the Iraqi Ministry of Education to discuss the details of the printing process and delivery of school books.[/size]
[size=45]The head of the Education Committee, Suad Al-Waili, confirmed that the committee is closely following up with the relevant committees in the Ministry of Education regarding the book printing process. She added that there is continuous coordination with the Ministry of Education to ensure that the process runs smoothly.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has begun printing modern curriculum books as part of its preparations for the next academic year (2024-2025), stressing that no new titles have been written.[/size]
[size=45]The official spokesman for the ministry, Karim El-Sayed, explained that the ministry had started early on its plan to print modern curriculum books for the next academic year, stressing that the printing process is being done locally, pointing out the ministry’s keenness to print new copies of some of the study titles for the primary and secondary stages in successive batches.[/size]
[size=45]These challenges were not the only obstacles to the education system in the country, as there was the weakness of the teaching staff, the size of government spending, the spread of private education institutes and schools, in addition to the issue of leaking exam questions and other problems that accompany this important issue that concerns the generations of Iraq and its future.[/size]
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