Academic year kicks off in Iraq with 600 new schools inaugurated

BAGHDAD — More than 12 million students across Iraq returned to classrooms on Sunday, marking the beginning of the 2024-2025 academic year. In a significant step to address the country’s educational infrastructure challenges, the Ministry of Education announced the opening of 600 new schools.

Among the returning students, over 1.2 million are first-graders, accentuating the growing demand for educational facilities across the country.

Ministry spokesperson Kareem Al-Sayyid emphasized the government’s commitment to improving the quality of education. Speaking to state-run Al-Iraqiya, he said, “As part of our preparations for the new academic year, 600 new schools have officially been opened, with plans to complete 1,000 schools by the end of the year.”

This large-scale school construction project stems from agreements signed in 2021 between Iraq and several Chinese companies as part of the 2019 “oil-for-construction” deal, in which Iraq supplies oil in exchange for infrastructure projects, including school construction.

Despite these developments, officials stress that Iraq still needs an additional 8,000 schools to fully meet demand, according to the Ministry of Education.

In addition to the new schools, other measures have been taken to ensure a smoother start to the academic year. “Our preparations this year are much improved,” Al-Sayyid said. “One major improvement has been the early printing and distribution of textbooks, which in previous years faced delays.”

At Al-Futuwah Girls’ School in Mosul, principal Tiswahen Abdul Hamid told 964media, “The excitement and energy are palpable. Last week, we distributed textbooks to all grades to ensure everything was ready for the first day.” Her school, serving 1,200 students, is facing a teacher shortage, emphasizing the need for more schools.

In Wasit Governorate, Director General of Education Ahmed Shihab Al-Attabi said, “We successfully distributed textbooks to all schools in the districts and sub-districts and completed staffing allocations before the school year began.” He noted progress in addressing staffing shortages and efforts to eliminate double or triple shifts in schools.

However, challenges remain. According to UNICEF, 3.2 million Iraqi children are still out of school due to decades of conflict and underinvestment that have weakened the education system.

The new academic year has begun in all governorates of Iraq, except the Kurdistan Region, where classes start on Sept. 25.