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Educational reform in the Kurdistan Region
of Iraq
20.8.2008
By Randa Jamal
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August 20, 2008
The Northern Iraqi Kurdistan Region has taken
significant steps to improve regional education
standards. Accordingly, English language classes in
early grades and promoting creative thinking in
classrooms were incorporated into school curricula.
The educational reform in the Kurdistan Region will
be utilized as best practices for other parts of the
country where there is a need for educational
reform.
Asked about the implementation of educational
reform, Iraq's First Lady, Mrs. Hero Talabani
believes that much educational reform is still
needed both in the Kurdistan Region as well as the
entire country. She noted that the rotational shifts
in schools could negatively impede students' ability
to acquire the amount of material that is condensed
into three and half hours. |
A Large Number of Students Seated in a Classroom |
She compared the
experience of pupils today to that she had many
decades ago noting that "there is a huge difference
indeed". "I remain indebted to the school system in
my time for all the knowledge I acquired then", she
also emphasized. Describing the current curricula,
she explained that the problems of educational
system are linked to the lack of schools and an old
curriculum that has not sufficiently evolved to meet
the demands of the 21st century.
In particular reference to the Kurdistan Region,
Mrs. Talabani applauded the educational reform,
although the problem remains with the number of
schools, which enforced the shift system. She
however explained that there were "more schools
built since 2003 than the entire number of schools
constructed in the region between 1958 and 2003."
The Kurdistan Region Ministry of Education is
enthusiastic about educational reform. This falls in
line with the vision of the Minister of Education,
Dr. Dilshad Mohammad,www.ekurd.net
who said "the new
education system should develop a well balanced
curriculum that will be geared towards creating a
productive and skilled new generation". Towards this
endeavor, the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is proactively
assisting with educational reforms in the region.
The organization is currently involved in a
nation-wide US$ 5 million-project entitled
"Rebuilding Iraqi School Curricula", while other
parts of the country anticipate reforms similar to
that in the Kurdistan Region.
In 2007, UNESCO also expanded its role and opened up
an office in Erbil. The Director of Relations, Mrs.
Rasheda Zaher-Draey, said that the organization will
also be the first in the region,www.ekurd.net
and, at the request of
the Ministry of Education, will open an office
within the Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Education.
UNESCO contributes to curricular rehabilitation by
sharing experience, expertise, and evaluation.
"Although we are ahead in education reforms, we want
to support educational capacity building and be part
of the team nation-wide", Rasheda Zaher-Draey added.
Such capacity building could include cooperative
efforts between the Kurdistan Region Government and
Baghdad around teacher training, cholera prevention,
accelerated learning programmes and special needs.
Mrs. Zaher-Draey also emphasized the Ministry of
Education's partnerships with several other
stakeholders, including the World Bank and UNICEF.
She also shared that a US$ 3 million National
Strategy (still waiting for approval by the Iraqi
Strategic Review Board) has been dedicated for
developing a nation-wide education strategy for Iraq
that will be an "overall umbrella that would allow
for differentiation in implementation but with the
same overriding goals".
In addition to UNESCO, two major United Nations
bodies, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
and the World Health Organization (WHO), work to
promote education on certain topics in primary and
secondary schools. This includes a project that was
implemented in October 2007, in Erbil, Sulaimaniyah,
Duhok, Baghdad, Basra and other governorates that
aims to educate primary and secondary school
students on cholera prevention, and will run until
March 2009.
Education Reform in the KRG
includes:
- Starting in 2005, teaching English through new
Macmillan (Sun Rise) from Grade 1 Basic now reaches
Grades 1-4 Basic and 7-10 Basic + prep.
- After 35 years, a new Mathematics and Science
curriculum of Harcourt has been accepted from 2007
-2008 and first started with Grades 1,2,3 Basic and
ongoing for this year to cover Grade 4 and 7 Basic
- After 35 years, Social Economic curricula for
Grades 10,11,12 Preparatory (Literary) changed
- A new 3-year plan started from 2008-2009 to change
Kurdish language programs with an approved standard
and covers Grades 2-6 Basic
- The plan started to change social (Literary)
programs of History, Geography, Civic Education,
Human Rights, Citizenship, etc… and ongoing for 4
years beginning with Grades 4,5,6 Basic
- Preparing plan to use a new Arabic Language
curriculum (incorporating Arabic as a second
language)
- The new curricula encourages the use of modern
teaching methods to enable children to be more
analytical
- Attempts to incorporate visual aids and CD's into
the curriculum including working on a programme of
teacher training
Subjects currently being
taught in new curricula include:
Kurdish
Arabic
English
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Mathematics
History / Geography / Social education / Civic
education
Sport
Art / Music
Copyright, respective author or news agency, uniraq
org
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