Iraq - Preprimary & Primary Education

For children aged four to five, preschools (nurseries) provide preliminary and kindergarten levels of education. Nursery and kindergarten levels teach children aged four to six years. Enrollment in nurseries and kindergartens is voluntary. Primary schools enroll students beginning at age 6 and ending at age 11; students graduate with a Primary Baccalaureate or Certificate of Primary Studies. The number of pupils in nurseries for the academic year 1997-1998 totaled 70,585, with 50.8 percent males and 49.2 percent females. The enrollment rate was 6.8 percent for this age group. The Basrah governorate has the highest enrollment, with 10.4 percent, while the Baghdad governorate had the lowest, with 1.4 percent. In 1991-1992, the enrollment rate for this age group was higher at 8.2 percent. In 1997 some 566,337 new students enrolled in grade one; they ranged in age from 5 to 10 years. Male enrollment in this group was 53.3 percent, while female enrollment totaled 46.7 percent. In 1997, approximately 12.5 percent of students in grade one had attended early childhood development programs. In 1997, a total of 3,029,386 Iraqi children were enrolled in primary school, with 55.4 percent male students and 44.6 percent females. In the same year, primary school teachers with teaching certifications numbered 111,956; they represented 78.9 percent of all primary teachers in the country. Primary school teachers with university degrees numbered 29,981, or 21.1 percent of all primary teachers. The pupil-teacher ratio is 21:1 nationwide, excluding the Kurdish areas.

Repeaters & Dropouts: Repetition continues to be a major issue in Iraq. On the primary level, the repetition rate was 14.5 percent nationwide in 1997-1998 (excluding the Kurdish Autonomous Region). The repetition rates for primary school for the same year were: grade one, 13.2 percent; grade two, 13.2 percent; grade three, 12.0 percent; grade four, 13.7 percent; grade five, 22.7 percent; and grade six, 7.2 percent.

The highest repetition rate was in grade five, with 26.3 percent of all male students and 19 percent of all female students repeating the grade. In 1997-1998, the mean rate of repetition for grades one to five equaled 17.0 percent, down from 20.1 percent in 1991-1992. The government aims to reduce the repetition rate to 4 percent by academic year 2005-2006. The rate of pupils who passed the promotion examination for grade four in 1997-1998 was 70.7 percent.

Dropout or wastage rates are computed for both students and teachers. A total of 259,125 students dropped out of primary school in 1998-1999. Many professionals have left Iraq to escape the depressed economy and shattered national infrastructure brought about by the sanctions, while many students have dropped out of school to work or due to a lack of motivation. There is a high incidence of malnutrition, anemia, and fatigue and diarrhea among students; an absence of adequate heating and cooling in school buildings aggravates such health concerns. The numbers of pupil and student dropouts in 1997-1998 were as follows: primary, 72,598; intermediate, 33,390; preparatory, 3,645; vocational, 1,919; and teacher training, 509. The overall number of dropouts was 112,061.

A total of 26,394 teachers and school staff quit by 1997-1998. The Ministry of Education reported a shortage of 624 teachers for the kindergarten level in 1998-1999, with a projected shortfall of 963 by 2005-2006. By the same academic year, the total primary teacher shortage is expected to reach 12,037 teaching professionals.

The learning plan for the elementary stage in Iraq includes the following subjects for all grades one through six: Islamic education, Arabic language and calligraphy, mathematics, science, technical education, physical education, and singing and music. English is studied in grades five and six along with history, geography, and family education. Civics is studied in grades four through six while social education is studied in grades one through four. In grades one through three, students take a total of 32 classes, while those in grades four through six take 34 classes.

In addition, the Christian religion is taught for two periods in schools where the majority of the student population is Christian. Agricultural education in rural schools is taught for two periods in grades four, five, and six. Workshops that train students in manual, technical, and athletic skills are arranged beyond regular school hours as extracurricular activities. In 1998, the number of school libraries totaled 6,594.

Special education is provided to below average students by way of special classes annexed to various elementary schools in the governorates. In 2000, the number of classes ranging from grades one to four was reported to be 383, with 3,360 pupils and 463 teachers.

The trade sanctions have had a deeply deleterious effect on all phases of education in Iraq. Approximately 40 percent of Iraq's schools, some 4,157 structures, were destroyed in the aftermath of the Gulf War; total damage to the educational infrastructure is estimated at 214,626,319 Iraqi dinars. The embargo prevents the purchase of materials to repair these buildings, though United Nations/UNESCO efforts have mended and updated some structures and provided some students with books and chalk. In 1998, some 3,981 school buildings still needed repair. In 1979-1980, the number of primary school buildings was 9,460—9,053 were government buildings and 407 were rented. In 1997-1998, there were 7,419 government buildings (153 were rented). The supply of textbooks is extremely limited; the Ministry of Education has implemented a plan where students use 50 percent new texts and 50 percent used texts, while utilizing a textbook exchange program between schools.

Communicable diseases and malnutrition are rampant, preventing many children from being able to attend school. In 1995, only 41.5 percent of those enrolled in primary schools reached the fifth grade. Many students must drop out and take up jobs in order to support their families, or they simply lack the drive to continue their studies.