The Rise of Education in Iraq and the Impact of Wars
By: Prof.Muayyad Omran Chiad (PhD)
University of Kerbala , College of Education for the Humanities
Department of English , Iraq (mayyadomran2@uokerbala.edu.iq
Abstract
Iraq is the cradle of civilizations. Its civilization goes back to 7000 years and it is considered the greatest in the Arab world and the region. Iraq, which was known as Mesopotamia in the ancient time, was ruled by great people like Hammurabi, the founder of the first codified law system.Like its civilization, Iraq has a strong history of education represented in many achievements.One of these achievements was in the Summarians who divided the circle into 360 degress.Another achievement was in the poem Gilgamesh which was considered a great epic poem of the Summerians. Another was the invention of the first writing system which was an important contribution to education and knowledge in general.
The present study is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the history of education system in Iraq through the different stages of its development. The second part explores the impact of wars, sanctions and violence and how they negatively affect the reconstruction plans of the successive governments.
Introduction
Iraq was the center of Islamic golden age in the ninth century. It came under the control of various groups , including the Ottoman occupation. The country came into being at the end of World War I at the end of the Ottoman Empire.After the end of the British control in 1933, the Kingdom of Iraq was established. Baath party came to power in 1963 and later Saddam Hussein in 1979. Iraq went through many wars , such as the war with Iran
in 1980 , and with Kuwait in 1991.America invaded Iraq in 2003.Since then , Iraq has been waging wars against terrorism and moving ahead to establish a stable country.
Education in Iraq has a history that goes back to 4000 years AD. Regardless of the past, education in the current time is run by two ministries : Ministry of Education and
Ministry of Higher Education. Education in Iraq is compulsory for the six years of the primary school and free for all levels. Education of girls and women is considerable .It contributes to the general literacy of the country. The language used in classes is Arabic , except for some colleges and departments, such as the engineering and medicine and Kurdish in the Kurdistan region. The academic year starts from September to June.
(Wenger, 2016)
The present work presents a survey of the stages of education in Iraq from the ancient till the present time , then the impact of wars and sanctions in the deterioration of schools and universities, and the quality of teaching. Some conclusions and recommendations are given.
Section one: History of Education in Iraq
1-Education in the Ancient Era
Education takes an important place in the civilized societies because it is the cornerstone of creating literate human beings. Unlike its civilization history, the history of education system in Iraq had not been recorded until the year 1919 with the existence of the official state of Iraq (UNESCO,2010). This, in fact, makes it difficult for scholars and researchers
to trace the education system of that era. However,some attempts have been made to record the education of the Ancient Mesopotamia,the area now is called Iraq, like Edward Chiera’s book They Wrote on Clay (1938) , and Georges Roux’s book Ancient Iraq (1964), and Professor Oppenhiem’s book Ancient Mesopotamia Portrait of a Dead Civilization (1977), among others.
These sources and others refer to the importance of learning was essential to the people of Mesopotamia for more than 4,000 years. Students, people of knowledge, thinkers and intellectuals from around the world were attracted to get education and dwell in that place.The invention of the first system of writing about 3200 B.C. pushed kings, officials, and priest to realize the need for schools. It can be confirmed that schools were the first institutions which were found in the fourth millennium B.C.by the Sumerians in the
southern Mesopotamia. Schools at first where aligned with the temples, so they were called temple established schools.They were first intended to educate boys as scribes and priests. Later, schools took a secular trend and scribes asked for tuition to join them. Only rich families, kings, priests could send their sons to schools due to the costly tuition.Boys joined schools at the age of seven or eight years . Girls,on the other hand, who were attending the schools were king’s daughters or those who were trained to be priestesses.The deathblow of Summerians gave rise to a great literary activity of the Babylonians. Schools and libraries were full with literary activities and productions. Edward Chiera (1938:84) mentioned that most of the scribes in ancient Babylon were men though women can be noticed but they were lesser in number .This indicates that women made an entry to schools and public life earlier in Ancient Iraq. The system of writing was hard for learners, so they would spend a long time of schooling to master that system and to acquire the general knowledge from their teachers. The Teachers were from priests or previous scribes. Learners also had the option either to enter into a regular school or go to a private scribe. Regular schools have an extensive training in sciences and literature, such as reading, writing, math, history, zoology, geography, botany, astronomy, engineering, medicine, and architecture. These schools would enable learners to be priests or scientists while the private tutoring would train them for future business. The textbooks were different from the present day as they were tablets of clay that students had a difficulty to carry from one place to another. The relationship between the teacher and the learners were close or even closer than the present century. It is quite possible for a scribe to adopt children to be his own sons until they mastered the profession. Documents refer to the fact that some persons called themselves as sons of Mr. so and so, the scribe (ibid,165).
Teachers were strict and harsh as they applied the principles verbatimly. The first Iraqi teacher in the schools was the priest who got their knowledge from the god ( Nabu ), the inventor of writing and the patron god of literacy, wisdom and writing, and a divine scribe(Breasted , 1914:100)
According to documents of cuneiform texts found, in the mid of the third millennium, schools developed greatly as a result of the separation between the political power and religions. Schools had their own independence in their buildings , administration and organized themselves as separate entities .In addition, they developed their curricula , and methods of teaching to reach its peak in the Sumerian third dynasty 2113-2006 BC in which schools spread very widely in the various cities of Mesopotamia. The same system of writing and education was used by the Babylonians to train their scribes, archivists, secretaries and other personnel. Schools served the center of culture in the whole region.To learn the language, pupils had to practice constantly on clay tablets, do a memorization, recitation, reading and copying different texts until they got everything right with no mistakes. To learn math , pupils required to copy and imitate various classical texts of myths ,epics , hymns , proverbs and essays in Sumerian and Babylonian languages. Pupils also learnt music and mathematical problems and solutions ( Kramer, 1956:37)
Learning in general and writing in particular were important to the people of Ancient Mesopotamia. They gave it much attention and showed much respect to the one who mastered that skill. This is clear in their proverb “ An illiterate person is a blind person ” , “writing is a father of the preacher and mother of the pupil”. The epic poem of Ghilgamish is a true example of the creativity of that era.It was found in the library of the Assyrian kind , Ashur Banipal.The poems contains 3,500 lines and at least 1,500 years older than Homer’s The Iliad. It was written and rewritten in many languages which made it spread to most parts of the world ( Doughert, Beth k. and Edmund A.Ghareeb , 2013:229)
2.Education in the Islamic Era
In the 3rd century, the Persian Sassanid controlled the area of Ancient Mesopotamia. The earlier population was replaced by Arabs and the name Al-iraq went back to that time. The Sassanid Empire was defeated by Muslims of Rashidun caliphate in the 7th century.
Islam played a great role in the development of education in Iraq. In the beginning, teaching was given in special room (Majlis) annexed to the Mosques for learning the teachings of the Prophet Muhammed (swa) and the Quran. Education started in early age in which learners studied Arabic and Quran , then they would continue learning in Tafsir ( Quran exegesis) and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Education method depended on memorization in early levels, then moved to reading and writing in more advanced levels until they reach the rank of ulema. Education in the earlier stages of Islam was transmitted informally from teachers to learners, but later the rulers started to establish formal institutions of higher religious learning, which helped to unite the diverse Islamic communities and spread Islamic teachings to more places. License (ijaza) of educational attainment was granted to individuals by scholars rather than the institutions and it put its holder a position among scholars. Women could get learning in Quran and Hadith studies only in private settings either in mosques or private homes or from each other.
So, education in the early period of Islam was either private in which learners paid for their teachers to study and get a certificate, or state subsidized in which the state assigned mosques to them or built for their use. (Macdonald, 1971:301-302)
Gradually Iraq became the center of the Islamic Golden Age in 9th century under the Abbasid caliphate, in particular Harun Al-Rashid(786-809) who founded a place called Bayt Alhikma (the House of Wisdom) where scholars from different origins could meet and translate the classical knowledge of the world into Arabic.It was a library , a translation center and a university. Muslim scholars made great advances and discoveries in the fields of , art , literature, sciences based on the previous achievements of other civilizations such as Persians, Greeks ,Indians, Chinese, and Byzantines .Baghdad became the most important city in the world. Learning paperwork from the Chinese helped in the spread of knowledge.
Many ideas and inventions were presented by various scholars.For example,Al-Kindi made advances in mathematics and philosophy by synthesizing Greek philosophy , yet
with Islamic view.AL-Khwarzmi developed algebra which is named after his book Kutab Al-jabr, Ibn Alhaytham made great development in the field of optics and how the human eye works, in addition to his scientific method. These innovations and others discoveries in agriculture, astrology , astronomy and farming made their ways to the west to be the bases of their theories ( Turner, 1997: 95).
Examples of prominent schools ( Madrasas ) during the Islamic government were Mustansiriya Madrasa and Al-Nizamiyya Madrasa the oldest in the medieval world. Mustansiriya Madrasa was established in 1227 by the Abbasid caliph Al-Mustansir . It had a collection of 80,000 volumes . It had learners from different parts of the world who studied religion besides other sciences of mathematics , Medicine , Pharmacy , Health , etc. After the Ottomans invasion, Mustansiriya was closed and its books became an important part of the Royal library in Istanbul. (Hill,Donald:1991).
2.Another school was Al-Nizamiyya Madrasa of Baghdad established in 1065 by Nizam Al-Malik during the Abbasid caliph Abu Jafar Abdullah AlQim Biamir Illah.It gave free education and was described as the largest school in the medieval world.It had 3000 students . It gave learning in different fields, like religious, Islamic Law, literature, history , mathematics , music and physical sciences . It was destroyed by the mogul invasion to Bagdad in 1258. (Makdisi, 1970:255–264 (Black, 2001)
At the end of the tenth century AD , education was divided into four stages:
1.Pre-School education ( Kutab) started in Iraq during the first century of Islam. Children from six years old to twelve were admitted to these schools. They were usually run by Mulla ( Al-Hilali, 1959: 49).
2-Primary stage: learners were admitted to this stage at the age of twelve to study Quran, dictation and arithmetic, Islamic law, Arabic reading , grammar , geometry , algebra, drawing, etc.
Secondary school stage: the study extended for five years in which learners studied Quran , tradition , monotheistic divinity , grammar , history of literature , reading and memorization , logic , physics , chemistry , biology , and geography.
4.Undergraduate and graduate stage .Students studied theology. Undergraduate was for four years and graduate was from five to seven years .The universities were annexed to the mosques . Almustinsiriya University was a true example of this education.
European crusaders (1097-1291) and Mogols led to the fall of Baghdad and the end of the golden age in 1258 causing enormous destructions to the city and its teaching institutions . Later , Iraq was forced to surrender to Ottoman conquer. Iraq entered into a period of decline.
Education during the Ottoman Occupation
Education in Iraq witnessed a period of regression during the Ottoman invasion. Ottoman authorities did not allocate any fund for improving the status of education in Iraq,(Kufa review).This period witnessed the spread of Kuttabs , enrolled children from the age of three to six years.They were run by Mullah Kuttabs followed informal education basis either in mosques or houses. Children were taught Quran through memorization ,in addition to reading ,writing and arithmetic.( Al-Hilali, 1959: 49)
There was no exact figure to the numbers of Kuttabs during the Ottoman Empire , but the estimate was 400.Gradually these schools were reduced with the increase of the number of the number of primary schools ( Al-Adhami, 1967 : 62 ).This weak situation continued until the coming of Midhat Pasha to the throne in 1868. He established some modern schools in Baghdad in 1870 , such as Rushdiya school, military school and vocational , in spite of the fact that these schools had been found earlier in other parts of the empire. (Al
Hilali, ibid, 177 and al-Wardi, p. 259). Private schools were established earlier by some religious groups, such as Christians and Jews . Among these schools were the Catholic Assyrian in 1800, Catholic Chaldean in 1814 and 1814, and Orthodox Assyrians 1840. A
Jewish school was established in 1864 based on European curriculum (Al-Najjar, p. 251.) International organizations and foreign missionaries found their schools as well, such as Carmelite missionary school in 1742, and Dominican school in 1854. As far girls education is concerned, there were some schools to educate them with the boys, in particular the Assyrian school in 1868. Four schools for girls were open in Basrh in 1902.These schools contributed a great deal of teaching in Iraq before the presence of any government schools. The main focus of these schools was to teach modern European curriculum to Iraq and their emphasis was on languages. (ibid p. 242)
Although the arrival of Midhat Pash coincided with the declaration of the first Ottoman Law of education in every city , primary school had not presented in Iraq until 1886 . Six schools in Baghdad were opened within years 1891 and 1908 , the number of primary schools reached twenty three in the whole country . By 1913 , there were 32 schools in Baghdad, and ten in Mosel and its vicinity (Al-Najjar, 129-131).
After the restoration of the Ottoman constitution in 1908, a Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) was formed .The committee included among its members some Iraqi notables from different religious and cultural backgrounds and it started some positive changes in education by encouraging the establishment of more primary schools.By 1908, Iraq had 160 public primary schools , 78 in Baghdad , 31 in Basra and 51 in Mosel with two teachers in each school and comprised 6,665 males and 756 females.
However,Arabic as a medium of instruction had not taken place in many cities until the British occupation.(Sati’ Al-Husari, pp. 118)
Secondary schools was not in a good condition. There were only two in the whole country 1890, one was in Baghdad and the other was in Mosul 1895 . The one in Basra established later in 1914 a month before the British occupation.(ibid, 155, 305) Each of these schools taught different materials, have different curriculum , and followed a different ideology far from the Iraqi identity. Different languages were the focus of each school, but Arabic was often ignored. On the other hand, government schools were disorganized and incomplete .Their focus was on reading , arithmetic , religious ethics ,
Quran , geography and Ottoman history. (Al-Qaysi, p. 89.) The government schools included elaborated subjects, yet the quality of teaching was not good in comparison to the private schools taught by one to three teachers in each school. In the private schools, there were more than eight teachers who were having high qualifications due to their education in the West.( Al-Najjar, p. 139).
Concerning higher education, little encouragement was given by the Empire .The first college was the law college established in Baghdad in 1908 by Nazim Pasha , the governor of Baghdad. The college accepted graduate from secondary school. The syllabus was covered four years in which different subjects related to law were included . (al- Hilali, Tarikh, p. 216). Teachers were graduates of law colleges in Istanbul. The language of instruction was Turkish. (Al-Najjar, p. 381).The college was about closed in 1914 after world War I . Another college was established by notable people in Baghdad in 1911 which was Adamiya college .It emphasized religious teachings.
In conclusion, whatever reforms were made to education during the Ottomans, it was going within the general law of education decreed in1869.
4.Education in Iraq during the British and the Monarchy
The education system during the British occupation developed slowly and with difficulty. There were limited number of schools at the beginning of the British administration after the First World War. In other words, the policy of the British authorities was against the expansion of schools in Iraq. They, therefore, reduced their funding on education in general, and secondary and higher education in particular. On reason behind this policy was their fear that the enrollment of children in the secondary schools might cause problems to their agenda because graduates may lead the agitation of Iraqis against them. However,they directed their effort on primary schools and some denominational schools because they were needed to provide them with functionaries who could ran some civil services. Arabic substituted Turkish to be the first medium of instruction while English was confined to the towns.
With the establishment of Iraq state in1921 under the British mandate ,education system witnessed a little progress , but it remained limited in scope.( education in Iraq , chapter one ).Ministry of education was established and it replaced the British one. The ministry had many responsibilities, such as training and appointing teachers , prescribing the curriculum and text-books, and supervising the exams . However,this education system played a great role in the foundation of the education system of the present Iraq. The new system was intended to raise a unified sentiment of Iraqi identity. During this era, the number of secondary schools increased a great deal ,the number of enrollment in primary schools spiked from 12,226 in 1921 to 29,644 in 1931. A new law was enacted that obliged all the schools whether government or private to teach a unified curriculum that would forge one distinctive identity. Education became centralized and ran by the Ministry of Education.(education in Iraq ,p.7) Subjects such as Arabic , Iraqi history , and geography were prominent in this curriculum.They were used to raise cultural values and political ideas based on selective symbols and historical memories.(Khalil , 174).
5.Education during the Republic
a.from 1958 till 1963
King Faisal was overthrown by Iraqi army officers in 1958. A Republic was declared. By 1958 , education in Iraq witnessed a great deal of expansion and led to many social changes. The government began to reform the education system. Kuttabs were decreased a great deal and gradually replaced by primary schools.
Education was compulsory; more pupils were admitted to primary schools with a huge jump from 43,000 in 1957 to 84,900 in 1963, then 926,000 in 1965.In 1970, education became free from primary schools to higher education .Enrollment reached 99% at primary school at the end of 1970. In the same year,programs were put to eradicate literacy on the adult level whether in the private or official level. This attempt was the first one. In 1930, a campaign was made to fight illiteracy, however it did not achieve any success .By the year 1963, the government established a systematized program to fight
illiteracy. Illiteracy centers were built 330 for men and 56 for women. The influence of this program was limited due to some reasons.
1-Lack of overall vision
2-Cultural illiteracy was neglected
3- Lack of determination and dedication
4-There was no clear data concerning the number, age , groups , employment , gender , and distribution of illiteracy.
Lack of textbooks and funds.
In general, a comprehensive plan scheme was needed to tackle these problems in order to bring the rate of illiteracy down.
Education from 1963-1984
This period witnessed the control of Baath party over the political scene.The party attempted to combine Arabs under the principles of socialism, nationalism, and pan Arabism .This system was against the one applied by other Arab countries. The party was autocratic in its application of the theory, yet it gave much attention to education in order to achieve its principles already mentioned.
This period witnessed a considerable growth of economy and social change because of the availability of resources such as the nationalization of oil and the rise of oil price. Both were reflected on the progress of education by which many problems might be solved.
These factors helped to achieve the development of education in all aspects and led to: 1-Eradiction of illiteracy in 1979,
2-Free education 1976
3.General census in 1977
4.Forming a supreme council for eradication of illiteracy in 1978
5.Basic infrastructures like schools were prepared,
6-Compulsory education in 1976 from 6-15 years.
7.Some governments decisions were taken like individuals had obligations as citizens and literacy was obligation for any employment in the government.
8.giving 20% of the government’s budget to education.
9.huge level of investment at all levels .
These factors led to the following.
1.progress in education,
2.gross enrollment of 100%
3.complete gender parity ,
4.illitrsacy between 15-45 age was 10%,and
5.increaesd perception of an Iraq identity by education system
Iraq won the UNESCO prize for eradicating illiteracy. Education was the strongest in the region , Islamic countries and Africa. The schools system was completely secular. (education during the 1970s)
The aim of eradication of illiteracy was not complete as it was faced by many problems whether political, social or economic .Therefore , Baath leaders were not able to handle the situation effectively . By the end of 1979 , the political situation became worse leading the breaking down of the whole system. That was the period of the start of Iran
Iraq war. Scholars were not permitted to move freely and stopped from traveling except for those of the ranks in the party. Earlier scholars were allowed to attend conferences and meetings while the government subsidized the expenses. However, after 1980, scholars were banned from traveling to study in the Arab states , US and Europe. Although considerable attention was given to education, the structure of learning , teaching and research suffered a lot after the war due to mismanagement of polices and regime wrong actions.
c.from 1991-2003
This was the period of sanction imposed on the country by the United Nations .The sanctions led to less spending on education, prevention of the flow of basic educational materials , the decline of the education and the increase of secularization in the education system .
( www.google.for), intellectual vacuum in the government,increase of sectarian divides , political confusion, the use of education to promote the causes of the government , and militarization of the curriculum . Saddam’s policy was to politicize the identity within the educational system .The system shifted from a system of national identity to sectarian divides and political disequilibrium.
D.after 2003
The invasion of 2003 had a severe impact on education for ransom during 2003-2004. In addition, educational institutions were During this period, education system was a victim of the occupation and the resulted violence. 3000 schools were either looted or damaged . Educational facilities were a target of violence of post-2003 war .Violent attacks against universities and schools reached 31,593 cases. School drop-outs were high, especially among females as a consequence of violence and kidnapping and their parents’ fear to send them to schools. Some schools in some cities were closed. Thousands of academics and scientists were murdered and kidnapped devolved to political parties or subject to rival among interest and power groups.
What worsens the situation more was the corruption. Despite the huge number of contracts, little was done to rebuild schools and universities. Antonia Juhasz wrote, “there is no improvement to the infrastructure, and no new equipments were brought.” Schools were only painted to remove the old oppressive regime’s slogans and were replaced by new slogans of democracy and liberation.
The billions of dollars approved by the American congress for the reconstruction of Iraq was simply a gift from US taxpayers to US private corporations, and not to the people of Iraq.US citizens were subsidizing US companies.
However, there is a new vision for the education system in Iraq according to the National Development Strategy published in June 2005 which intends to “ transform Iraq into a peaceful , unified federal democracy …fully integrated into the global economy.” The exact strategy towards education includes “ investing in human capital with a focus on adult literacy , vocational training , and actions to reduce drop-out rates at the primary level.”
In the current time, actions include many programs like :
1.3,600 schools have been rehabilitated ,
120,000 teachers have been employed,
3.Focus on girls education,
Curriculum reform,
5.Increasing collaboration with external parties.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Iraq
However, Iraqis are to be praised for their courage to stay and continue their life against the odds. Iraqi professionals were once called the “Germans of the Middle East” for their technical skills. In spite of the internal and external challenges, education still functions and there is a hope for the improvement through the creation of shared values and political engagement, effective means to heal social divides and establish peace in Iraq.
Section two : Education and the Impact of War
Education in Iraq before 1990 was one of the best systems in the region according to the report issued by the United Nations(UNESCO,2004).However, the education system in Iraq was declining because of previous governments’ policies and engagement in three decades of wars, such as the eight-year Iran – Iraq war, Kuwait war, the sanctions imposed by the United Nations, American Invasion to Iraq in 2003, and war on ISIS . These events seriously affected the education system which was unable to meet the needs of the people. War and the resulting socio-economic situations led to many consequences like:
1- Government negligence to the quality of education, teaching and learning at all levels.
2- Teachers were not paid properly to live well, so most of them left the country for a better life.
3- Course content was out of date,
4- School spending declined much to 90%.Before 1990 , the government allocated 20% of the expenditure to education whereas spending decreased to 8% of the expenditure after the Gulf war and imposed sanctions.(Parsons and Ahmed,2007) 5- Compulsory education declined,
6- Enrollment rate was low from 1990-2007 .Children were forced to work to support their families . In 2007, nearly nine-in-ten children aged 15 or under were not attending school regularly. Ministry of Education reported that in 2007 only 28% of all 17-year-olds who were enrolled in high school graduated. Enrolment rates for universities are equally low,
7- Female education decreased dramatically ,
8- Literacy declined sharply to reach 29% in 2001 and 53% in 2002, (Ghali , 2005 ). 9- Schools were in a poor condition and students did not have enough textbooks and supplies. In general, schools are poorly maintained with unclean toilets and no access to drinking water. There are insufficient numbers of classrooms, they have no windows and no heating, and lack chairs and tables. Libraries and computer equipment are inexistent.( UNICEF,2004)
10.Students could not go to school in some areas because of the attacks and killings . From 2003 till 2008 , 31,598 violent attacks against education institutions were reported and 259 teachers and researchers were murdered , 72 were kidnapped and 174 were arrested. More than one hundred students were killed by bombs attacks targeting schools and universities( Ghali,2005). Half of the assassinations were at the university of Baghdad , while Basra and Mosel were highly dangerous.(Al
Hourani,2006). France press reported that some professors were either gave up teaching or held classes once a week(Cancela-Kieffer , 2007 ).
11.Internal displacement of students and teachers is another problem resulted from insecurity situation in 2007.According to UN refugee agency , displaced numbers reached to 220,000 school children and schools in secure areas were not enough to receive the new comers .
12.Bad security led the government to close roads and bridges which made it difficult for students to attend classes.(Beaumont , 2006 )
Wars and sanctions forced many Iraqi teachers to leave the country .The number of qualified teachers available on the labour market is insufficient to meet the needs of public sector schools, regardless of the level of education concerned.
Conclusions
The history of education system in Iraq is discussed in various eras:
1-education in the ancient era, the invention of the first system of writing about 3200 B.C. pushed kings and officials to pay attention to the importance of education and the need for schools.
2.education in the Islamic era, Iraq became the center of the Islamic Golden Age. Muslim scholars made great advances and discoveries in the fields of , art , literature, sciences based on the previous achievements of other civilization,
3.education during the Ottoman occupation, education in Iraq witnessed a period of regression during the Ottoman invasion. Kuttabs were spread during this period, were run by Mullah and enrolled children from the age of three to six years . Kuttabs followed informal education basis either in mosques or houses.
4.education in Iraq during the British and the Monarchy, the education system during the British occupation was developing slowly. The policy of the British authorities was against the expansion of schools in Iraq. However,With the establishment of Iraq state in1921 under the British mandate ,education system witnessed a little progress.
5.education during the Republic, during the years 1958 till 1989, education in Iraq witnessed a great deal of development. Education was the best in the region , Islamic countries and Africa.Iraq had 100% of enrollment rate.After 1990, education witnessed a sharp decline due to wars and sanctions by a diversion of funds from education to military spending besides other priorities which prevented education from recovering.
6.education of the present time, there is a new vision for the education system to “ transform Iraq into a peaceful , unified federal democracy” .Education was given special attention by the government. However, there is great deal of difficulties and challenges
represented by inherited problems of the previous regime , violence and corruption which negatively destabilized the education system in Iraq.
Three decades of war and the resulting socio-economic situations seriously affected the education system which was unable to meet the needs of the people.
Recommendations
Despite the considerable improvement of the education system in Iraq since 2003,the system requires serious efforts to overcome the legacy of conflicts. A report by Geopolicity in 2009 gave some recommendations for improvements:
A surge in human development
Focus spending on priorities and long term structural needs
A need for evidence based education
Actions may include:
Distance learning programs
More collaborations with external partners
Focus on curriculum reform
Increasing chances for children , in particular girls education
Providing learning resources.
