KRG: Nearly 2,700 schools need repairs
Shafaq News- Erbil
Around 2,700 schools across Iraq’s Kurdistan Region (KRI) require repairs, Education Minister Alan Hama Saeed said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a conference, Hama Saeed said about 3,000 schools had been renovated and 273 new ones built, with work underway on another 20. Four schools were handed over last week, and more than 100 others were handed back after rehabilitation.
About 42,000 students also returned to school in recent years as part of efforts to reduce dropout rates, he said.
According to Hama Saeed, KRI had faced a severe financial crisis in recent years, and the federal government had denied it its allocated education share under the federal budget. Still, the KRG continued providing education services “without interruption.”
A KRG delegation held talks in Baghdad on September 9 over KRI’s financial entitlements in the 2027 federal budget. Federal Finance Minister Faleh Sari said KRI’s financial rights would be addressed.
Read more: Erbil demands fair share in Iraq's 2027 budget
Across Iraq, Education Ministry spokesman Karim Al-Sayyid told Shafaq News on September 9 that the country faced a shortage of more than 10,000 schools. About 1,000 mud-built and caravan schools remained in use, and the shortage had led some schools to operate double and triple shifts.
