Nearly 7,000 students return to school in Kurdistan Region through ‘Back to Learning’ initiative

ERBIL — Nearly 7,000 students who had dropped out of school in the Kurdistan Region have re-enrolled this academic year, with most returning in Erbil governorate and the fewest in Halabja governorate. The effort is part of the “Back to Learning” campaign implemented by the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Education in collaboration with UNICEF.

The campaign, officially launched on Oct. 1, 2024, concluded on Nov. 16, 2024. According to data released by the Ministry of Education, the initiative succeeded in re-enrolling 6,887 students across the Kurdistan Region.

Most of the returning students are in Erbil, where 3,025 students have re-enrolled. In Duhok, the campaign brought back 967 students to school, while Garmian saw 732 students rejoining the education system. Sulaymaniyah followed closely with 714 students re-enrolled.

In other areas, 534 students in Zakho, 361 in Soran, and 311 in Raparin returned to school. Halabja recorded the lowest number of returning students, with 243 re-enrollments this year.

Ashour Noul, Director of the General Education Directorate in Soran, emphasized the significance of this year’s achievements. “This year, we managed to bring back 361 dropouts from Soran’s educational centers and get them back into school,” Noul told 964 media.

The Ministry of Education also reported that over the past four years, the “Back to Learning” campaign has successfully re-enrolled 33,271 students who had previously dropped out of school across the Kurdistan Region. The initiative has been lauded for addressing barriers to education and creating new opportunities for students to continue their studies.