Iraq bars public university staff from teaching at private colleges

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research on Thursday barred teaching staff at public universities and the ministry’s headquarters from lecturing or advising at private universities, colleges and institutes, saying the posts should go to unemployed postgraduates.

A ministry document sent to universities and signed by Higher Education Minister Haider Bahaa al-Husseini also revokes a May 2, 2023, directive that had allowed public university and ministry teaching staff to lecture at private institutions.

The ministry said the ban serves the public interest. It said the ban will give unemployed master’s and doctoral degree holders a better chance at teaching posts in private higher education and ease staff shortages there. The ministry told university presidents to enforce it.

Academics formally seconded to private institutions under Private Higher Education Law No. 25 of 2016 are exempt.

The ministry imposed a similar ban in 2016. That year it told private universities and colleges to hire unemployed postgraduates and barred public university staff from teaching there, except in administrative posts and rare specializations, according to a ministry statement at the time.

In February, the cabinet told private universities and colleges to meet their tax, pension and social security obligations to academic and administrative staff, and called for proposals to improve how private institutions are run.

The ban also follows a January cabinet decision, No. 40 of 2026, that limited university service allowances to staff fully dedicated to teaching. The decision was part of spending cuts, and it set off strikes and protests at universities in several governorates.

Graduates have pressed for government jobs all year. On May 25, master’s and doctoral degree holders and top-ranked graduates demonstrated in Baghdad for posts in the 2026 federal budget. Organizers said some had waited more than three years for appointments despite holding official employment registration codes.

Thousands of graduates marched toward the Green Zone on Aug. 17. In September, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered the Finance Ministry to set aside posts for long-term graduates in the draft budget. Iraq has had no budget this year, and the 2027 bill is due in parliament on Nov. 15.